JP7082559B2 - Animal toilet - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an animal toilet.

Conventionally, as a toilet for animals, one used by animals such as cats raised indoors is known. Further, as shown in Patent Document 1, an animal toilet 1 having a first weight scale 21 for measuring the weight of animal excrement is also known. The first weight scale 21 of the animal toilet 1 supports the measuring table 12 and the excretion tray 13 on which the weight of the animal is not applied, and by measuring the change in the weight of the excrement tray 13 depending on the presence or absence of excrement, the excrement is excreted. Weigh in.

International Publication No. 2017-104216

The excretion tray 13 of the animal toilet 1 described in Patent Document 1 is inserted or removed from a hole on the side surface of the main body container 10, but when the excretion tray 13 is taken out after receiving the excrement, the excretion tray 13 is taken out. The upper end of the mesh 12 may come into contact with the back surface of the mesh 12a, and the excrement may leak out of the excretion tray 13.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an animal toilet capable of reducing the risk of excrement leaking to the outside of a tray. It is in.

The main invention for achieving the above object is an upper container having a front-back direction, a left-right direction, and a vertical direction, and an upper container bottom having a plurality of holes penetrating in the vertical direction, and an upper container wall portion. A tray having a receiving portion for receiving excrement that has passed through the plurality of holes, a support container having a supporting portion for supporting the tray, and a main body portion having an upper opening and a front opening on the upper and front sides, respectively. The upper container is arranged in the upper opening, and the upper container wall portion is a portion provided upward from the bottom of the upper container. An animal toilet provided outside the bottom of the upper container and capable of inserting and removing the support container in a state of supporting the tray from the front opening along the front-rear direction, and is in contact with the tray. The gravity of the tray acts on the portion when the lower surface of the tray comes into contact with the portion, and the gravity of the upper container and the main body portion does not act on the portion. The upper container bottom portion has an output unit that outputs a signal that changes according to a load with respect to the upper container, and the upper container bottom portion projects downward by a predetermined distance from the lower end of the upper container wall portion in the vertical direction. The front side wall portion, the left side wall portion, the right side wall portion, the rear side wall portion, and the drawer portion provided on the front side of the front side wall portion are provided, and the support portion includes the front side wall portion, the left side wall portion, and the right side wall portion. The rear side wall portion is arranged in the inner region surrounded by the portion and the rear side wall portion, and the rear side wall portion includes a first wall portion provided on both outer sides of a portion overlapping the upper container bottom portion in the left-right direction, and the first wall portion. It has a second wall portion provided between the one wall portions, and the distance between the position of the upper end of the first wall portion and the position of the upper end of the second wall portion in the vertical direction is the above. It is an animal toilet characterized by being longer than a predetermined distance.
Other features of the present invention will be clarified by the description in the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

According to the present invention, even when the support container provided with the tray after the animal excretes is pulled out, the rear side wall portion of the support container contacts the bottom of the upper container, and the excrement is on the outside of the tray. The risk of leakage can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the animal toilet 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded explanatory view of the animal toilet 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the animal toilet 1. FIG. 4A is a schematic plan view of the upper container 10. FIG. 4B is a schematic side view of the upper container 10. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the main body 20. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the main body portion 20, the tray 30, and the support container 40 in the used state. FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of the tray 30 arranged in the support container 40. FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of the support container 40. FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of the bottom surface of the support container 40. FIG. 10A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line EE in FIG. FIG. 10B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line FF in FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of the animal toilet 1 in use. FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the upper container 10'and the support container 40' in the animal toilet as a comparative example. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the upper container 10 and the support container 40 in the animal toilet 1. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the drawer portion 43 is brought into contact with the mounting surface and the upper end of the first wall portion 42df is brought into contact with the upper container curved portion 12. FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line KK in FIG. FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the animal toilet 100 of another embodiment as viewed from the center to the rear in the front-rear direction. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a tray 300 of another embodiment.

According to the description of the present specification and the attached drawings, the upper container having the front-back direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction, and the upper container bottom having a plurality of holes penetrating in the up-down direction, and the upper container having the upper container wall part. A tray having a receiving portion for receiving excrement that has passed through the plurality of holes, a support container having a supporting portion for supporting the tray, and a main body portion having an upper opening and a front opening on the upper and front sides, respectively. It has an output main body portion provided with a tray contact portion, the upper container is arranged in the upper opening portion, and the upper container wall portion is a portion provided upward from the bottom portion of the upper container. An animal toilet provided outside the bottom of the upper container and capable of inserting and removing the support container in a state of supporting the tray from the front opening along the front-rear direction, the tray contact portion. When the lower surface of the tray comes into contact with the tray, the gravity of the tray acts on the tray, and the gravity of the upper container and the main body portion does not act on the tray. It has an output unit that outputs a signal that changes according to a load, and the bottom of the upper container projects downward by a predetermined distance from the lower end of the wall of the upper container in the vertical direction, and the support container is in front. A side wall portion, a left side wall portion, a right side wall portion, a rear side wall portion, and a drawer portion provided on the front side of the front side wall portion are provided, and the support portion includes the front side wall portion, the left side wall portion, and the right side wall portion. , And the rear side wall portion is arranged in the inner region surrounded by the rear side wall portion, and the rear side wall portion is provided with a first wall portion provided on both outer sides of a portion overlapping the upper container bottom portion in the left-right direction, and the first wall portion. It has a second wall portion provided between the wall portions, and the distance between the position of the upper end of the first wall portion and the position of the upper end of the second wall portion in the vertical direction is the predetermined value. It is an animal toilet characterized by being longer than the distance.

According to such a toilet for animals, even when the support container with the tray is pulled out after the animal has excreted, the rear side wall portion of the support container comes into contact with the bottom of the upper container, and the excrement is discharged. It is possible to reduce the risk of leakage to the outside of the tray.

In such an animal toilet, in a state where the animal toilet is placed on the mounting surface, the front end of the bottom surface of the drawer portion is in contact with the above-mentioned mounting surface, and the first support container is provided. It is desirable that the bottom of the upper container and the second wall are separated from each other in a state where the upper end of the wall is in contact with the wall of the upper container.

According to such an animal toilet, even when the front end of the bottom surface of the drawer portion is in contact with the mounting surface and the upper end of the first wall portion of the support container is in contact with the upper container wall portion. Since the bottom of the upper container and the second wall do not come into contact with each other, it is possible to reduce the possibility that excrement leaks to the outside of the tray when the support container comes into contact with the bottom of the upper container.

In such an animal toilet, it is desirable that the position of the upper end of the second wall portion is higher than the position of the upper end of the tray.

According to such an animal toilet, the possibility that the excrement leaks to the rear can be reduced by the second wall portion higher than the tray that receives the excrement.

In such an animal toilet, it is desirable that the position of the upper end of the second wall portion is lower than the position of the upper end of the tray.

According to such an animal toilet, since the upper end portion of the tray is not covered by the second wall portion, the user who takes care of the animal or the like can easily grasp the rear end portion of the tray.

In such an animal toilet, the tray has a flat receiving portion provided in the central portion in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction for receiving the excrement, a tray front side wall portion for partitioning the receiving portion, and a tray. A left side wall portion, a tray right side wall portion, and a tray rear side wall portion are provided, and the tray rear side wall portion includes a third wall portion provided on both outer sides of a portion overlapping the upper container bottom portion in the left-right direction. It is desirable to have a fourth wall portion provided between the third wall portions, and the position of the upper end of the fourth wall portion is lower than the position of the upper end of the third wall portion.

According to such a toilet for animals, even when the support container provided with the tray after the animal has excreted is pulled out, the rear side wall portion of the tray of the tray comes into contact with the bottom of the upper container, and the excrement is in the tray. It is possible to reduce the risk of leaking to the outside of the.

In such an animal toilet, the upper container wall portion has an upper container contact point that overlaps with the inner end in the left-right direction of the upper end of the first wall portion in the left-right direction, and the upper container wall portion has the upper container contact point in the vertical direction. It is desirable that the distance between the lower end of the upper container wall portion and the upper container contact point is equal to or less than the predetermined distance.

According to such an animal toilet, a position closer to the bottom of the upper container in the left-right direction than when the distance between the lower end of the upper container wall portion in the vertical direction and the contact point of the upper container is larger than a predetermined distance. Since the upper container wall portion and the first wall portion come into contact with each other, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the second wall portion and the upper container bottom portion come into contact with each other.

In such a toilet for animals, the front side wall portion has a fifth wall portion provided on both side portions in the left-right direction and a sixth wall portion provided between the fifth wall portions. The position of the upper end of the sixth wall portion is lower than the position of the upper end of the fifth wall portion, and the left-right length of the second wall portion is smaller than the left-right length of the sixth wall portion. It is desirable that the position of the upper end of the second wall portion is longer than the position of the upper end of the sixth wall portion.

According to such a veterinary toilet, having a longer second wall portion in the left-right direction further reduces the risk of the rear side wall portion coming into contact with the bottom portion of the upper container, while lowering the upper end portion of the fifth wall portion. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the user's work of lifting the tray is hindered by the front side wall portion.

=== First Embodiment ===
The animal toilet 1 according to the present embodiment is a toilet used by an animal such as a cat kept indoors. The term "animal" as used herein includes not only so-called pets such as cats, dogs, rabbits and hamsters, but also tigers and lion babies. Further, the "user" of the animal toilet 1 means an animal owner or a breeder who manages the animal toilet 1. The animal toilet 1 is installed and used on a mounting surface G such as an indoor floor.

<Overall configuration of animal toilet 1>
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the animal toilet 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded explanatory view of the animal toilet 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the animal toilet 1. In the following description, the three directions orthogonal to each other are referred to as a front-back direction, a left-right direction, and a vertical direction. The center line CC in FIGS. 4A and the like indicates the center of the animal toilet 1 in the left-right direction, and the animal toilet 1 has a shape symmetrical with respect to the center line CC.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the animal toilet 1 includes an upper container 10, a main body 20, a tray 30, a support container 40, a cover 50, and an output main body 60. The upper container 10 is arranged from above the main body portion 20, and the cover 50 is arranged above the main body portion 20 and the upper container 10. The tray 30 is arranged inside the support container 40, and the support container 40 in a state of accommodating (supporting) the tray 30 is retractably accommodated in front of the main body 20. Further, the main body 20 is mounted on the output main body 60 from above.

When used as a toilet for animals, a plurality of granular excrement treatment agents (not shown) are placed on the inner bottom surface of the upper container 10, and an absorbent sheet (not shown) is placed on the receiving portion 31 of the tray 30. Deploy. The excrement treatment material is so-called cat litter, which is a granular treatment material that absorbs or permeates liquid animal excrement such as urine. The excrement treatment material has water repellency and allows a large amount of liquid to permeate through the liquid absorbing member. If an excrement treatment agent that easily absorbs liquid is used, the excrement treatment agent absorbs a large amount of urine, making it difficult to accurately measure the urine volume. However, even a water-repellent excrement treatment agent may absorb a small amount of urine. When such excrement is used, correction may be made according to the type of excrement treatment material used when detecting the amount of urine. The absorbent sheet is a sheet member capable of absorbing liquids such as excrement (urine), and a liquid-permeable front sheet, a liquid-retaining intermediate sheet, and a liquid-impermeable back sheet are laminated and joined. A rectangular sheet member can be used. Hereinafter, the animal toilet 1 in a usage state in which the animal toilet 1 is mainly used will be described, and the excrement treatment agent and the absorbent sheet will be omitted in the drawings and the like.

<< Configuration of upper container 10 >>
FIG. 4A is a schematic plan view of the upper container 10. FIG. 4B is a schematic side view of the upper container 10. The upper container 10 is a bottomless container, and has an upper container bottom portion 11 and an upper container curved portion (upper container wall portion) 12 on the bottom surface.

The upper container bottom portion 11 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and has an open hole region H in which a plurality of holes h penetrating in the vertical direction are formed, and a non-open hole region N in which the holes h are not provided. The perforated region H is provided in the central portion of the upper container bottom portion 11, and the non-perforated region N is provided in the peripheral portion surrounding the perforated region H. Specifically, the upper container bottom portion 11 has a perforated region H having a hole h and a non-perforated region N having no hole h around the perforated region H on the same flat surface. Have. The opening region H includes a straight line tangent to the hole h located on the most front side from the front side, a straight line tangent to the hole h located on the leftmost side from the left side, and a straight line tangent to the hole h located on the rearmost side from the rear side. It refers to a region surrounded by a straight line tangent to the hole h located on the rightmost side from the right side and a curved line connecting the four corners where these straight lines intersect while tangent to the hole h. Each hole h has a vertically long shape, and has a size that allows urine (liquid) to pass through but not feces (solid) in animal excrement.

The upper container curved portion 12 is a portion curved upward from the upper container bottom portion 11 and is a wall portion constituting the outer wall of the upper container 10. The upper container curved portion 12 is a region extending upward from the entire peripheral portion of the upper container bottom portion 11.

The upper container bottom portion 11 projects downward by a predetermined distance from the lower end of the upper container curved portion 12, and the distance from the lower end of the upper container curved portion 12 to the lower end of the upper container bottom portion 11 is Lb (predetermined distance). The bottom portion 11 of the upper container is a region on which an animal is placed, and is provided with a plurality of holes h. Therefore, the strength of the upper container bottom 11 is improved by increasing the thickness of the upper container bottom 11.

<< Configuration of main body 20 >>
FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the main body 20. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the main body portion 20 is a member surrounded by a wall surface and has no bottom surface and top surface. The upper opening 21 on the upper side, the lower opening 22 on the lower side, the front opening 23 on the front side, the main body side wall portions (side wall portions) 24 and 24 on both inner side portions, and the main body concave portion on the inner front side portion. It has 25 and a main body rear wall portion 26 on the inner rear portion.

The upper opening 21 and the lower opening 22 are substantially rectangular openings penetrating in the vertical direction, respectively. The upper container 10 is arranged in the upper opening 21, and the upper container 10 is supported by the upper end portion of the main body portion 20. The lower opening 22 is smaller than the upper opening 21 and wider than the upper output portion 61 described later. When the main body 20 is placed on the output main body 60, the main body 20 is outside the upper output portion 61, and the lower end portion of the lower opening 22 comes into contact with the lower output portion 62. The front opening 23 is a substantially rectangular opening provided at the lower part of the front wall surface of the main body 20 and over substantially the entire area in the left-right direction, and is smaller than the upper opening 21 and the lower opening 22. The side wall portions 24 of the main body are aligned in the front-rear direction from both side portions of the front opening 23, and restrict the movement of the support container 40 in the housed state (used state) in the left-right direction. The main body recess 25 is a recess provided in the inner front portion and is recessed downward, and is along the left-right direction. By fitting the support container convex portion 44 (see FIG. 9) of the support container 40 described later into the main body concave portion 25, the movement of the support container 40 in the front-rear direction is restricted. The rear wall portion 26 of the main body is provided at the center portion in the left-right direction of the inner rear portion, and is along the left-right direction. The movement of the support container 40 in the front-rear direction is restricted so that the inserted support container 40 does not move backward from the predetermined position.

<< Configuration of tray 30 and support container 40 >>
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the main body portion 20, the tray 30, and the support container 40 in the used state. In FIG. 6, the upper container 10 and the cover 50 are omitted for convenience. As shown in FIG. 6, in the used state, the tray 30 is housed inside the support container 40, and the support container 40 is housed inside the main body 20. FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of the tray 30 arranged in the support container 40. FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of the support container 40. FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of the bottom surface of the support container 40. 10A is a schematic view of a cross section shown by an arrow EE in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10B is a schematic view of a cross section shown by an arrow EF in FIG. The center line XX in FIGS. 6 to 8 is the center line of the inner region 42U.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the tray 30 has a receiving portion 31 at the center and a supported portion 32 provided above the receiving portion 31. The receiving portion 31 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plane surrounded by a wall surface on all sides, and receives excrement (specifically, urine) that has passed through the hole h. The length of the receiving portion 31 in the front-rear direction is Lt, and the length in the left-right direction is Mt. The supported portion 32 is provided outside the receiving portion 31 and above the receiving portion 31, and the upper surface and the lower surface are planar portions, respectively. Further, the supported portion 32 is a portion supported by the support portion 41 when the support container 40 is moved while the tray 30 is housed in the support container 40. In the used state, the supported portion 32 is separated from the supported portion 41.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 7, 8, 9, 10A and 10B, the support container 40 has a support portion 41, a wall portion 42, a drawer portion 43, and a support container convex portion 44. The wall portion 42 includes a front side wall portion 42a, a left side wall portion 42b, a right side wall portion 42c, and a rear side wall portion 42d, and is surrounded by a front side wall portion 42a, a left side wall portion 42b, a right side wall portion 42c, and a rear side wall portion 42d. The region is the inner region 42U. The rear side wall portion 42d has a first wall portion 42df and a second wall portion 42ds whose upper end height is lower than that of the first wall portion 42df. The front side wall portion 42a has a fifth wall portion 42af and a sixth wall portion 42as whose upper end height is lower than that of the fifth wall portion 42af. The first wall portion 42df, the second wall portion 42ds, the fifth wall portion 42af, and the sixth wall portion 42as will be described later. The support portion 41 is a member that supports the tray 30, and is provided in the inner region 42U. Specifically, the support portion 41 is continuously provided at the same height over the entire peripheral edge portion of the inner region 42U, and the front side and both side support portions 41 have a constant width along the left-right direction and the front-back direction, respectively. It is a wall member to have, and the support portion 41 on the rear side is a flat member extending from the rear side wall portion 42d toward the front side (see FIG. 2 and the like). In a state where the support container 40 is pulled out from the main body portion 20, the supported portion 32 of the tray 30 is placed on the upper portion of the support portion 41, and the support portion 41 supports the tray 30, so that the tray 30 becomes the support container. It will be housed in 40. The drawer portion 43 is provided on the front side of the front side wall portion 42a, and is provided with a portion to be grasped by the user when the support container 40 is pulled out from the main body portion 20 to the front side.

Two support container convex portions 44 are provided on the bottom surface of the support container 40. The two support container protrusions 44 have substantially the same size, and each has a substantially rectangular shape and protrudes downward. In addition, they are arranged at the same position in the front-rear direction. In the used state, the convex portion 44 of the support container is fitted in the concave portion 25 of the main body of the main body 20, and the movement of the support container 40 in the front-rear direction is restricted. By pulling out with a predetermined force, the support container convex portion 44 is released from the fitted state with the main body concave portion 25, and the support container 40 can be pulled out in front of the main body portion 20.

<< Configuration of cover 50 >>
FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of the animal toilet 1 in use. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 11, the cover 50 is arranged above the upper container 10 and the main body portion 20, and has a cover opening 51 on the upper side. The cover 50 covers the front portion of the upper opening of the upper container 10. The cover 50 reduces the risk that the excrement treatment agent scratched by the animal will come out of the animal toilet 1. The animal toilet 1 covers the front part of the upper container 10, so that the excrement treatment agent when the animal excretes toward the rear side and then scratches the excrement treatment agent with the hind legs is the animal toilet 1. It reduces the risk of getting out of the toilet.

<< Configuration of output main unit 60 >>
As shown in FIG. 2, the output main body unit 60 has an upper output unit 61 and a lower output unit 62 located below the upper output unit 61. The upper output unit 61 and the lower output unit 62 each have a rectangular shape in a plan view and have a predetermined thickness. The upper output unit 61 is placed on the lower output unit 62. The upper output unit 61 has a tray contact portion 61a on which the tray 30 abuts on the upper surface, and includes at least one upper load cell (not shown) which is an output unit inside the upper output unit 61. The tray contact portion 61a is flat over the entire surface of the upper output portion 61. The lower output unit 62 includes a lower load cell 63, which is an output unit, and a control unit (not shown). The lower load cell 63 is provided at the four corners of the bottom surface of the lower output unit 62, projects downward, and is also a leg portion that supports the entire animal toilet 1. The upper load cell and the lower load cell 63 are cylindrical compression type sensors that convert the applied force into an electric signal and output it.

The control unit is connected to the upper load cell and the lower load cell 63 by a wired or wireless signal line, and receives signals output from each load cell. The control unit has a communication unit (not shown), a storage unit (not shown), and a processing unit (not shown). The communication unit is a part that wirelessly communicates with a load cell or a terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The storage unit is composed of RAM, ROM, and the like, and is a part for storing various data and programs. For example, the detected weight before excretion, the weight of excrement, the number of excretion, the correction value associated with the excrement treatment agent, and the like can be stored. The processing unit is composed of a CPU and the like, and is a part that performs various operations. For example, arithmetic processing such as calculating the weight of excrement from each detection result such as the weight before excretion and the weight after excretion stored in the storage unit is performed.

<< Operation of weight measurement of excrement by animal toilet 1 >>
FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. In FIG. 12, the upper container 10 and the cover 50 are omitted. As described above, in the tray 30 in a state of being pulled out from the support container 40 from the main body portion 20, the supported portion 32 of the tray 30 is supported by the support portion 41 of the support container 40. On the other hand, in the tray 30 in the used state, the bottom surface of the tray 30 comes into contact with the upper output unit 61, is supported by the upper output unit 61, and is supported on the upper output unit 61 without contacting the support portion 41 of the support container 40. Listed in. The main body 20 with the upper container 10 and the cover 50, the support container 40, and the upper output 61 with the tray 30 mounted are placed on the lower output 62. As a result, the gravity of the tray 30 acts on the upper output portion 61, and the gravity of the upper container 10, the main body portion 20, the support container 40, and the cover 50 does not act. That is, when excrement is received in the tray 30, the upper output unit 61 does not detect the weight of the upper container 10, the main body 20, the support container 40, the cover 50, and the animal, but the weight of the tray 30 and the excrement. Is detected by the upper load cell. The absorbent sheet is loaded as the weight of the tray 30, and the excrement treatment agent is loaded as the weight of the upper container 10.

A method for measuring the weight of excrement will be specifically described. The storage unit stores in advance the weight detected as the force received by the upper load cell when the animal is not placed on the animal toilet and the weight detected as the force received by the lower load cell 63. That is, the weight of the tray 30 and the absorption sheet was detected in the upper load cell, and the weight of the upper container 10, the main body 20, the support container 40, the cover 50, and the excrement treatment agent was detected in the lower load cell. The result is stored in advance in the storage unit as the initial body weight.

When an animal such as a cat enters the inside of the upper container 10 from the front side of the animal toilet 1, the force received by the lower load cell 63 increases as the weight of the upper container 10 (main body portion 20) increases. At this time, the lower load cell 63 outputs a signal corresponding to the received force. The control unit that received the signal stores the detection result received as a signal as the pre-excretion weight in the storage unit, and in the processing unit, calculates the difference between the pre-excretion weight and the initial body weight stored in the storage unit. Get the weight of the animal.

When the animal urinates on the bottom 11 of the upper container, the urine falls through the gap between the excrement treatment agents and the through hole h to the receiving portion 31 of the lower tray 30. As a result, the weight of the tray 30 that receives urine increases, the force that the upper load cell receives from the tray 30 increases, and the upper load cell outputs a signal according to the force received from the tray 30. The control unit stores the detection result received as a signal as the tray weight after excretion. In the processing unit, the difference between the initial tray weight stored in the storage unit and the post-excretion tray weight is calculated to obtain the weight of animal excrement (urine).

The control unit transmits the weight of the obtained excrement to the user's terminal via the communication unit, and can display it on the screen of the terminal. The control unit may transmit and display various obtained data, not limited to the weight of excrement. The various data obtained are the number of excretion, the time of excretion, the weight of the animal, and the like. In addition, the accumulation of each data may be shown in a graph or a table.

<< About the first wall part 42df and the second wall part 42ds >>
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the upper container 10'and the support container 40' in the animal toilet as a comparative example. As shown in FIG. 13, in the animal toilet shown as a comparative example, the upper container bottom portion 11'and the rear side wall portion 42d'are closest to each other in the central portion in the left-right direction. Therefore, when the support container 40'is pulled out from the animal toilet 1'after use, the lower surface of the upper container bottom portion 11'and the upper portion of the rear side wall portion 42d' may come into contact with each other. In particular, in the animal toilet provided with the output main body, which can measure the weight of animal excrement, the distance between the lower surface of the support container 40'and the ground contact surface is long, so the support container 40'is placed on the front side. When pulled out, the support container 40'easily tilts so that the front side comes into contact with the ground contact surface and the rear side faces upward. As a result, the bottom portion 11 ′ of the upper container and the upper portion of the rear side wall portion 42d come into contact with each other, and the rear side wall portion 42d ′ scrapes the excrement (urine) adhering to the lower surface of the bottom portion 11 ′ of the upper container in the forward direction. There was a risk that excrement would leak to the outside of the support container 40'.

In this respect, in the animal toilet 1, since the rear side wall portion 42d includes the first wall portion 42df and the second wall portion 42ds, excrement may leak to the outside of the tray 30 or the outside of the support container 40. Is reduced.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the upper container 10 and the support container 40 in the animal toilet 1. As shown in FIG. 14, the rear side wall portion 42d is provided with first wall portions 42df and 42df on both outer sides of the portion overlapping the upper container bottom portion 11 in the left-right direction. Further, a second wall portion 42ds is provided between the first wall portion 42df on the left side and the first wall portion 42df on the right side. The heights of the upper ends of the first wall portions 42df on both sides are the same and are symmetrical with respect to the center line CC. The second wall portion 42ds has a shape symmetrical with respect to the center line CC, and the height of the upper end of the second wall portion 42ds is lower than the height of the upper end of the first wall portion 42df. Further, the distance Lw between the position of the upper end of the first wall portion 42df and the position of the upper end of the second wall portion 42ds is longer than the distance Lb, which is a predetermined distance in which the upper container bottom portion 11 projects downward (Lw>. Lb).

Since the upper container bottom portion 11 has a downwardly projecting distance Lb, there is a high possibility that the upper container bottom portion 11 will come into contact with the rear side wall portion 42d. Therefore, by providing the second wall portion 42ds in the portion overlapping the upper container bottom portion 11 in the left-right direction, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the upper container bottom portion 11 and the rear side wall portion 42d come into contact with each other. By preventing contact between the bottom portion 11 of the upper container and the rear side wall portion 42d, even when the support container 40 is pulled forward from the main body portion 20 when the absorption sheet arranged on the tray 30 is replaced after the animal excretes. It is possible to reduce the possibility that excrement adheres to the supported portion 32 of the tray 30 or the excrement leaks to the outside of the support container 40, and adheres to the output main body portion 60, the mounting surface G, or the like. There is no need to dispose of the excrement.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the support container 40 is pulled out from the main body 20 from the used state in which the animal toilet is placed on the mounting surface G, and the front end of the bottom surface of the drawer 43 is placed on the mounting surface. The bottom portion 11 of the upper container and the second wall portion 42ds are separated from each other in a state of being in contact with G and in a state where the upper end of the first wall portion 42df of the support container 40 is in contact with the curved portion 12 of the upper container. It is preferable to have. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the drawer portion 43 is brought into contact with the mounting surface and the upper end of the first wall portion 42df is brought into contact with the upper container curved portion 12. FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line KK in FIG. The support container 40 is in a state where the front end of the bottom surface of the drawer portion 43 is in contact with the mounting surface G and the upper end of the first wall portion 42df of the support container 40 is in contact with the upper container curved portion 12. It is also the most tilted state in the vertical direction. Even in such a state, since the bottom portion 11 of the upper container and the second wall portion 42ds are separated from each other, the support container 40 comes into contact with the lower surface of the bottom portion 11 of the upper container, scrapes excrement, and is more than the support container 40. It reduces the risk of leaking to the outside.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, it is preferable that the position of the upper end of the second wall portion 42ds is higher than the position of the upper end of the tray 30. Since the second wall portion 42ds is provided at the upper end of the tray 30, that is, at a position higher than the supported portion 32, the excrement received by the second wall portion 42ds in the tray 30 leaks rearward from the rear side wall portion 42. It can serve as a wall to reduce the risk of spilling.

The upper container curved portion 12 has upper container contact points P that overlap with the inner end in the left-right direction of the upper end of the first wall portion 42df in the left-right direction, respectively, on both sides in the left-right direction. It is preferable that the distance Lp between the lower end of the upper container curved portion 12 and the upper container contact point P is a predetermined distance Lb or less of the portion protruding downward of the upper container bottom portion 11 (Lp ≦ Lb). As shown in FIG. 16, the upper container contact point P is a point where the upper container 10 and the support container 40 come into contact with each other when they are closest to each other. The upper container 10 and the support container 40, which are in contact with each other at the upper container contact point P, cannot approach each other in the vertical direction any more. As shown in FIG. 12 and the like, the upper container curved portion 12 is curved upward, and the rear side wall portion 42 has a first wall portion 42df having a higher upper end on both sides in the left-right direction. Therefore, the closer the upper container contact point P is to the outer side in the left-right direction, the easier it is for the upper container bottom portion 11 and the second wall portion 42ds to come into contact with each other. In this respect, when the distance Lp between the lower end of the upper container curved portion 12 and the upper container contact point P is set to the distance Lb or less, the distance Lp is larger in the left-right direction from the upper container bottom portion 11 than when the distance Lp is larger than the distance Lb. Since the curved portion 12 of the upper container and the first wall portion 42df can be brought into contact with each other at a close position, the possibility that the second wall portion 42ds and the bottom portion 11 of the upper container come into contact with each other can be reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the front side wall portion 42a also has the fifth wall portion 42af and the sixth wall portion 42as whose upper end is lower than the fifth wall portion 42af, similarly to the rear side wall portion 42d. It is preferable to have. The length of the first wall portion 42df in the left-right direction is Mdf, and the length of the second wall portion 42ds in the left-right direction is Mds. The left-right length of the fifth wall portion 42af is Maf, and the left-right length of the sixth wall portion 42as is Mas. The height of the upper end of the first wall portion 42df and the height of the upper end of the fifth wall portion 42af are equal.

In such a configuration, it is preferable that the left-right length Mds of the second wall portion 42ds of the rear side wall portion 42d is shorter than the left-right length Mas of the sixth wall portion 42as of the front side wall portion 42a (Mds <. Mas). Further, it is more preferable that the position of the upper end of the second wall portion 42ds is higher than the position of the upper end of the sixth wall portion 42as. That is, the length Mdf in the left-right direction of the first wall portion 42df on one side in the left-right direction is shorter than the length Maf in the left-right direction of the fifth wall portion 42af on one side in the left-right direction (Mdf <Maf). The distance Lw between the position of the upper end of the wall portion 42df and the position of the upper end of the second wall portion 42ds is between the position of the upper end of the fifth wall portion 42af and the position of the upper end of the sixth wall portion 42as. The distance is shorter than the distance Lv (Lw <Lv).

Of the support container 40, the rear side wall portion 42d is provided with a second wall portion 42ds having a longer length in the left-right direction, so that when the support container 40 is pulled out from the main body portion 20, the upper container bottom portion 11 and the support container 40 are provided. It becomes easier to reduce the risk of contact with. On the other hand, when the support container 40 is pulled out, the front side wall portion 42a that first appears on the outside of the main body portion 20 is less likely to come into contact with the upper container bottom portion 11 and the support container 40. The sixth wall portion 42as of the front side wall portion 42a is a portion that makes it easy for the user to grasp the tray 30 from the support container 40. Therefore, the sixth wall portion 42as does not need to be as wide as the fifth wall portion 42as in the left-right direction. Further, by making the distance Lv longer, it becomes easier to put a hand between the sixth wall portion 42as and the tray 30, so that the user can easily take out the tray 30.

=== Other embodiments ===
The above embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and is not for limiting the interpretation of the present invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and the present invention includes an equivalent thereof.

In the above-described embodiment, the position of the upper end of the second wall portion 42ds is set higher than the position of the upper end of the tray 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. The animal toilet 100 may have the position of the upper end of the second wall portion 42ds set at the same height as the position of the upper end of the tray 30 or lower than the position of the upper end of the tray 30. FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the animal toilet 100 of another embodiment as viewed from the center to the rear in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 17, the position of the upper end of the second wall portion 42ds is lower than the position of the upper end of the tray 30, so that when the tray 30 is gripped, such as when cleaning, the second wall portion 42ds and the tray 30 It becomes easier to put a hand between the upper end of the tray 30 and the tray 30.

Further, in addition to the first wall portion 42df and the second wall portion ds provided in the support container 40, the tray 300 may have a configuration having a third wall portion 320f and a fourth wall portion 320s. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a tray 300 of another embodiment. Specifically, the tray 300 includes a tray front side wall portion 320a, a tray left side wall portion 320b, a tray right side wall portion 320c, and a tray rear side wall portion 320d for partitioning the receiving portion 31, and a third wall portion on the tray rear side wall portion 320d. The 320f and the fourth wall portion 320s are provided. The position of the upper end of the fourth wall portion 320s is lower than the position of the upper end of the third wall portion 320f. Further, the third wall portion 320f is provided on both sides of the portion overlapping the upper container bottom portion 11 in the left-right direction, and the fourth wall portion 320s is provided between the third wall portions 320f.

By using the tray 300, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 15, when the support container 40 is pulled out from the main body 20, the tray 300 is tilted more in the vertical direction than the support container 40. It is possible to reduce the possibility that the rear side wall portion 320d of the tray of the tray comes into contact with the bottom portion 11 of the upper container.

In the above-described embodiment, the weight of the obtained excrement is displayed on the user's terminal or the like via the communication unit, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the animal toilet 1 may be provided with a display unit (not shown), and wireless or wired communication may be performed between the control unit and the display unit to display the weight of excrement on the display unit.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the animal toilet 1 has a configuration in which the tray 30 can be inserted and removed while being supported by the support container 40, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the support container 40 and the main body 20 may be integrated, and the tray 30 may be directly inserted into and removed from the main body 20.

In the above-described embodiment, the output main body unit 60 including the upper output unit 61 and the lower output unit 62 is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the output main unit 60 is provided with only the upper output unit 61, and the main body 20 and the like are directly placed on the ground plane G, or the lower output unit 62 is merely a base without a load cell, and the weight of the animal is used. It may be an output unit that performs only the purpose of measuring excrement without measuring.

1 Animal tray, 10 Upper container, 11 Upper container bottom, 12 Upper container curved part (upper container wall part), 20 Main body, 21 Upper opening, 22 Lower opening, 23 Front opening, 24 Main body side wall (Wall part), 25 Main body recess, 26 Main body rear wall part, 30 tray, 31 receiving part, 32 Supported part, 40 Support container, 41 Support part, 42 wall part, 42a front side wall part, 42af 5th wall part, 42as 6th wall, 42b left side wall, 42c right side wall, 42d rear side wall, 42df 1st wall, 42ds 2nd wall, 42U inner area, 43 drawer, 44 support container convex, 50 cover, 51 cover opening, 60 output body, 61 upper output, 61a tray contact, 62 lower output, 63 lower load cell, 100 animal toilet, 300 tray, 320a tray front side wall, 320b tray left wall Part, 320c tray right side wall part, 320d tray rear side wall part, 320f third wall part, 320s fourth wall part, G mounting surface, h hole, H perforated area, N non-perforated area, P upper container contact point

Claims (7)

With front-back direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction,
An upper container having a plurality of holes penetrating in the vertical direction and an upper container having a wall portion of the upper container, and an upper container.
A tray having a receiving part for receiving excrement that has passed through the plurality of holes,
A support container having a support portion for supporting the tray, and
A main body having an upper opening and a front opening on the upper side and the front side, respectively.
Has an output body with a tray contact
The upper container is arranged in the upper opening and
The upper container wall portion is a portion provided upward from the upper container bottom portion, and is provided outside the upper container bottom portion.
An animal toilet in which the support container with the tray supported can be inserted and removed from the front opening in the front-rear direction.
The gravity of the tray acts on the tray contact portion due to the contact of the lower surface of the tray, and the gravity of the upper container and the main body portion does not act on the tray contact portion.
The output main body portion has an output unit that outputs a signal that changes according to a load on the tray contact portion.
The bottom of the upper container projects downward by a predetermined distance from the lower end of the wall of the upper container in the vertical direction.
The support container includes a front side wall portion, a left side wall portion, a right side wall portion, a rear side wall portion, and a drawer portion provided on the front side of the front side wall portion.
The support portion is arranged in an inner region surrounded by the front side wall portion, the left side wall portion, the right side wall portion, and the rear side wall portion.
The rear side wall portion has a first wall portion provided on both outer sides of a portion overlapping the upper container bottom portion in the left-right direction, and a second wall portion provided between the first wall portions. ,
An animal toilet characterized in that the distance between the position of the upper end of the first wall portion and the position of the upper end of the second wall portion in the vertical direction is longer than the predetermined distance. The animal toilet according to claim 1.
In the state where the animal toilet is placed on the mounting surface,
In a state where the front end of the bottom surface of the drawer portion is in contact with the above-mentioned mounting surface and the upper end of the first wall portion of the support container is in contact with the upper container wall portion.
An animal toilet characterized in that the bottom of the upper container and the second wall are separated from each other. The animal toilet according to claim 1 or 2.
An animal toilet characterized in that the position of the upper end of the second wall portion is higher than the position of the upper end of the tray. The animal toilet according to claim 1 or 2.
An animal toilet characterized in that the position of the upper end of the second wall portion is lower than the position of the upper end of the tray. The animal toilet according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The tray has a flat receiving portion provided in the central portion in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction for receiving the excrement, a tray front side wall portion for partitioning the receiving portion, a tray left side wall portion, and a tray right side wall portion. , And the rear side wall of the tray
The tray rear side wall portion includes a third wall portion provided on both outer sides of a portion overlapping the upper container bottom portion in the left-right direction, and a fourth wall portion provided between the third wall portions. Have and
An animal toilet characterized in that the position of the upper end of the fourth wall portion is lower than the position of the upper end of the third wall portion. The animal toilet according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The upper container wall portion has an upper container contact point that overlaps with the inner end in the left-right direction of the upper end of the first wall portion in the left-right direction.
An animal toilet characterized in that the distance between the lower end of the upper container wall portion and the upper container contact point in the vertical direction is equal to or less than the predetermined distance. The animal toilet according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The front side wall portion has a fifth wall portion provided on both side portions in the left-right direction and a sixth wall portion provided between the fifth wall portions.
The position of the upper end of the sixth wall portion is lower than the position of the upper end of the fifth wall portion.
The left-right length of the second wall portion is longer than the left-right length of the sixth wall portion.
An animal toilet characterized in that the position of the upper end of the second wall portion is higher than the position of the upper end of the sixth wall portion.

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