WO1995031895A1 - Shock-absorber insertable between leash and collar to attenuate the dog's jerks - Google Patents

Abstract

A shock-absorber insertable between the leash (7) and the collar (8) so as to attenuate the dog's jerks consists of an elastic member (1) of elongated cylindrical shape made of rubber and provided with end members (3), including typically a spring catch (6), for the attachment to the above-mentioned dog control devices.

Description

"SHOCK-ABSORBER INSERTABLE BETWEEN LEASH AND COLLAR TO ATTENUATE THE DOG'S JERKS"

The present invention relates to accessories for controlling animals, and in particular to a shock-absorber suitable to be inserted between leash and collar so as to attenuate the jerks caused by the dog's jumps.

It is well known that keeping a dog of fairly large size on a leash involves serious problems when it tries to run away to meet another dog or for any other reason. In this case, in fact, the dog's start may take the owner by surprise and the resulting jerk can be traumatic for the wrist and/or shoulder of the latter. Moreover, the jerk may also be harmful for the dog's neck which is pinched by the collar and may also damage or even break the leash.

Essentially two solutions have been adopted to overcome said drawback: the first one consists in inserting a shock-absorbing spring between the leash and the collar, and the second one in producing a leash provided with an elastic section. However, both solutions have various drawbacks.

A shock-absorbing spring essentially consists of a usual coil spring inserted over axial rods whose ends bent at 180° limit the spring's extension. This structure is rigid and quite heavy, and therefore potentially harmful for the dog which may be struck by it. Moreover, the bent ends may hurt both the dog and the owner's hand and may also become tangled with the hair and/or the leash. Furthermore, the shock-absorbing spring does not efficiently attenuate the jerks due to its excessive rigidity and/or to its too short extension capability, whereby it reaches immediately the end stop against the bent ends. Finally, the spring is not provided with a front spring catch and thus is not promptly and easily insertable between leash and collar. A leash with an elastic section may be made in various ways, and two examples of said kind of leash are found in US patents n.4.993.366 (Sager) and n.5.146.876 (McPhail). The Sager patents discloses a leash consisting of a simple elongate tubular member of a non-elastic nature, provided with a handle, with an elastic cord attached therein which latches to the dog's collar. On the contrary, the McPhail patent discloses a more complicated leash consisting of a handle to which a non-elastic line and an elastic cord much shorter than the latter are attached in parallel relation. The elastic cord is attached at the other end to a second non- elastic line which latches to the collar and on which the first non-elastic line slides by means of a ring. In this way, when the elastic cord is fully extended it is of equal length to the first line, and the two non-elastic lines are subject to tension thus preventing the further lengthening of the elastic cord.

Regardless of the kind of leash taken into consideration, a first significant drawback of this type of solution is of economic nature. In fact, it is not an element applicable to the leash you already have, like the shock-absorbing spring, but it is a whole leash intended to replace the previous one. In particular, in the case of a more complicated leash such as the one in the McPhail patent, the difference of cost may be great. The greater complexity also implies a lower reliability and endurance, and a higher risk of some members such as the sliding ring, etc. becoming tangled in the dog's hair or legs, and so on.

A second drawback of a leash including a length of elastic cord stems from the fact that the latter usually has an excessive stretchability, i.e. it tends to extend too much. Even if the McPhail patents takes this into account, it does not avoid the jerk occurring when the two non-elastic lines are subject to tension to prevent the further lengthening of the elastic cord. Moreover, the elastic cord undergoes a deterioration in time, particularly considering the conditions of use of the leash which usually include exposition to water and sun, abrasion on the ground, sudden loading, etc. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a device which overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks.

This object is achieved by means of a shock-absorber having the characteristics cited in claim 1.

A first advantage of the shock-absorber according to the present invention is that it maintains the practicality of the shock-absorbing spring insertable between leash and collar with none of the defects thereof. In fact, the present shock-absorber is light, flexible and free from parts which can hurt and/or become tangled.

A second advantage of the present shock-absorber comes from its high resistance to wear and tear, since its characteristics remain unchanged in time much longer than conventional elastic cords. Moreover, it is not affected at all by the exposition to water whereby it can be hygienically washed frequently without any problem.

A further advantage of this shock-absorber derives from the elasticity characteristics of the rubber from which the elastic member is made. In fact the rubber, either natural or possibly mixed with other rubbers, has an elongation of 450-600% with substantially no permanent set, as well as a good strength. In this way, it is possible to provide an elastic member of short length yet with high absorbing capacity without failure. Furthermore, a shock-absorber suitable for dogs of any size can be obtained by a small change in diameter, indicatively from 10 to 25 mm.

These and other advantages and characteristics of the shock- absorber according to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof referring to the annexed drawings wherein: Fig.1 is a side view of the present shock-absorber;

Fig.2 is a side view of the shock-absorber of fig.1 inserted between leash and collar and subject to tension;

Fig.3 is a schematic view illustrating the application of said shock- absorber; and Fiq.4 is a longitudinal sectional view of an end of the shock-absorber.

Referring to fig.1 , there is seen that a shock-absorber according to the present invention essentially consists of an elastic member 1 of elongated cylindrical shape made of rubber and provided with terminals 2 secured to member 1 in the way which will be explained in detail further on. Each terminal 2 is externally threaded and a cap 3 provided with a U-ring 4 is screwed thereon. Said ring 4 is rotatably mounted on cap 3 by means of a pin 5, and the eyelet of a spring catch 6 is inserted in ring 4 at the front.

With reference to figs.2 and 3, there is seen that the present shock- absorber is easily inserted between the leash 7 and the collar 8 by latching the spring catch 9 of the leash to ring 4 at the rear, and spring catch 6 of the shock-absorber to ring 10 of the collar.

When the dog starts, member 1 extends thus attenuating the jerk; due to the effect of striction its section reduces more and more and elasticity is progressively reduced, while the force required for its further extension increases. When the dog's pull reaches its maximum the traction on member 1 disappears, and therefore it tends to return elastically to its rest condition of fig.1. In this way, the owner does not need to make a particular effort to pull back the dog, since the same force exerted by the dog for extending member 1 is now exerted by member 1 on the collar during its elastic recovery. This is another advantage of this type of shock-absorber which never reaches a limit of extension like springs or elastic cords do.

The material used for member 1 may be not only natural rubber thanks to its high merits of elasticity, elongation and resistance to wear, but also a mix of rubbers with different properties. For example, a 15% percentage of neoprene enhances mechanical strength and resistance to weather aging.

Finally referring to fig.4, there is seen that the above-mentioned striction of rubber (see fig.2) is exploited for a simple and safe attachment of terminals 2 to member 1 which has a central longitudinal hole 11. Member 1 is stretched until its section reduces to a diameter almost equal to the inner diameter of terminal 2. At this moment, terminal 2 is inserted on member 1 and a small ball 12 is then forced into hole 11 at the outer thread 13. In this way, the pressure exerted by member 1 inside terminal 2, with the additional pressure caused by ball 12, allows a safe and unalterable attachment.

In order to achieve an even greater safety, a non-extensible line such as a metal or nylon wire may be wound in the form of a safety spiral around member 1 from one terminal 2 to the other. This safety line can prevent the complete break-up of the leash in case of failure of member 1 or terminals 2, thus avoiding the dog's escape and/or the owner being "whipped" by member 1 springing back. Obviously, the length of the safety spiral is such as to allow complete free extension of member 1 , and said spiral may be wound outside member 1 or may even be embedded in the rubber of member 1 upon manufacturing thereof.

It is clear that the above-described and illustrated embodiment is just an example susceptible of various modifications obvious to those skilled in the art. In particular, the exact composition of the rubber mix used for member 1 may be somewhat varied according to specific production needs. Furthermore, the attachment members at the ends are easily adaptable to other types of latches. A possible change of this kind includes, for example, eliminating rings 4 held by pins 5 and replacing them with shaped caps 3. Cap 3 at the rear has a hole for attaching spring catch 9, and the one at the front has a U notch closed at the top by a screw for inserting the eyelet of spring catch 6. Therefore, possible additions and/or modifications may be made to the shock-absorber of the present invention, yet without departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims

1. A shock-absorber insertable between leash and collar, characterized in that it consists of an elastic member (1 ) of elongated cylindrical shape made of rubber and provided with terminals (2) secured thereto and having end members for the attachment to the above- mentioned dog control devices.

2. A shock-absorber according to claim 1 , characterized in that the rubber of the elastic member (1 ) consists of a mix of rubbers, preferably natural rubber with 15% of neoprene.

3. A shock-absorber according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the end members for the attachment to leash and collar consist of a cap (3) screwed onto each terminal (2) and having a ring (4) or an attachment hole, one of the caps (3) being provided also with a spring catch (6).

4. A shock-absorber according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each terminal (2) is mounted on the elastic member (1 ) with a negative allowance and fixed thereon by means of a small ball (12) forced into a central hole (11) of the elastic member (1).