Abstrict A disposable cat litter box includes a supporting base and a removable,
disposable bag of litter which is designed to fit inside of the
base. The disposable bag is provided with a draw string to facilitate
its closure after use, and a cardboard bottom inside of the bag
provides for a conforming fit of the bag within the base. In a modified
embodiment, a plurality of disposable bags are nested inside of
the base, and each bag is of a pleated structure with small reinforcement
wires going in vertical and horizontal directions. This allows one
side of the bag to be lifted upwardly within the base so as to form
a deflecting shield which reduces the amount of litter spillage
from the bag during a use of the box by a cat.
Claims I claim:
1. A new and improved disposable cat litter box comprising:
a base;
at least one disposable bag retained removably positioned within
said base;
a supply of cat litter contained within said bag; and
a bag shaped retention means associated with said bag and being
operable to maintain said bag in a desired shape so as to guard
against a dislodgement of said bag from said base during a use thereof
by said cat, said bag shape retention means comprises a section
of disposable stiff cardboard positioned interiorly of said bag
beneath said supply of cat litter, said bag shape retention means
includes stiffened pleats for holding said bag in said desired shape;
and
a litter deflection means for directing litter displaced by a cat
back into said bag, said deflection means having a deflection shield
formed by a sidewall of said bag, said deflection shield being selectively
pulled into an upstanding litter deflection position, said deflection
shield is of a pleated structure defined by a plurality of pleats
formed in said side wall of sad bag.
2. The new and improved disposable cat litter box as described
in claim 1 wherein said plurality of pleats are provided with a
shape retaining stiffness in a vertical direction by a plurality
of vertically aligned bendable wires retained within said sidewall
of said bag.
3. The new and improved disposable cat litter box as described
in claim 2 wherein said plurality of pleats are provided with a
shape retaining stiffness in a horizontal direction by a drawstring
positioned along a top edge of said bag and comprising a bendable
wire shaped to keep said top edge of said bag in an open condition.
4. The new and improved disposable cat litter box as described
in claim 3 wherein said bag shape retention means further includes
said vertically aligned bendable wires retained within said pleats
of said sidewall.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to cat litter boxes, and more particularly
pertains to a cat litter box of a disposable construction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of cat litter boxes is well known in the prior art. This
is evidenced by the granting of a number patents relating to various
functional and structural aspects of such litter boxes, and there
are many examples of litter boxes which have received U.S. Patents.
While each of these prior art patents disclose litter boxes which
fulfill their respective particular objectives and requirements,
and are most likely quite functional for their intended purposes,
it will be noticed that none of these patents disclose a litter
box which includes a litter-filled bag that is capable of being
shaped to limit the amount of litter ejected therefrom by a cat.
As such, them apparently still exists the need for improved disposable
litter boxes which are designed to limit the amount of litter which
can be ejected therefrom during use, and in this respect, the present
invention substantially fulfills this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types
of disposable cat litter boxes now present in the prior art, the
present invention provides a new disposable cat litter box having
advantages and improvements which are patentably distinct over similar
devices and methods which may already be patented or commercially
available. As such, the general purpose of the present invention,
which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide
a disposable cat litter box and method which has many of the advantages
of the disposable cat litter boxes mentioned heretofore while being
operable to overcome problems not presently addressed by the prior
art.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a disposable
cat litter box which includes a supporting base and a removable,
disposable bag of litter which is designed to fit inside of the
base. The disposable bag is provided with a draw string to facilitate
its closure after use, and a cardboard bottom inside of the bag
provides for a conforming fit of the bag within the base. In a modified
embodiment, a plurality of disposable bags are nested inside of
the base, and each bag is of a pleated structure with small reinforcement
wires going in vertical and horizontal directions. This allows one
side of the bag to be lifted upwardly within the base so as to form
a deflecting shield which reduces the amount of litter spillage
from the bag during a use of the box by a cat.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important
features of the invention in order that the detailed description
thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that
the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. Them
are additional features of the invention that will be described
hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims
appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the
invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is
not limited in its application to the details of construction and
to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following
description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable
of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various
ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology
employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not
be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,
upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as
a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems
for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention.
It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including
such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from
the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially
the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not
familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine
quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the
technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither
intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured
by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope
of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a
new disposable cat litter box and method which has many of the advantages
of the disposable cat litter boxes mentioned heretofore and many
novel features that result in a disposable cat litter box which
solves problems not presently addressed in the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new
disposable cat litter box which may be easily and efficiently manufactured
and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new
disposable cat litter box which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a
new disposable cat litter box which is susceptible of a low cost
of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which
accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming
public, thereby making such disposable cat litter box economically
available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide
a new disposable cat litter box which provides in the apparatuses
and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while
simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated
therewith.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with
the various features of novelty which characterize the invention,
are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and
forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of
the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects
attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying
drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred
embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood and objects other than
those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is
given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description
makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the disposable
cat litter box comprising the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the disposable bag utilizable
with the first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of disposable
cat litter box.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the invention as viewed along
the line 5--5 in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the invention taken from FIG.
4 of the drawings.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the invention as viewed along
the line 7--7 in FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS.
1-3 thereof, a new disposable cat litter box embodying the principles
and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by
the reference numeral 10 will be described.
More specifically, it will be noted that the disposable cat litter
box 10 in a first embodiment thereof includes a rectangularly-shaped
base 12 in which a plurality of litter carrying bags 14 can be stored
in a nested arrangement as best illustrated in FIG. 3. The box 12
is of a trapezoidal shape and in the preferred embodiment 10 it
would be preferably molded of a sturdy plastic. The trapezoidal
shape of the box 12 provides for outwardly flared sides, all of
which are generally designated by the reference numeral 16 that
are integrally attached to vertical sides 18 and these outwardly
flared sides provide stability to the base so that a cat can not
easily tip it over.
Each litter bag 14 is filled with a supply of conventional litter
20 and is openable from a top surface. The top edge 22 of each bag
14 is provided with an encased drawstring 24 so as to facilitate
an opening and closing of the bag 14 when desired. Additionally,
a bag shaped retention means is provided. Preferably the bag shaped
retention means is a rectangularly-shaped sheath of cardboard 26
is positioned beneath the litter 20 in each bag 14 and the cardboard
is shaped to conformingly fit within an interior area 28 of each
base 12 thereby to provide a fixed shape of the bag 14 within the
base which then prevents dislodgement of the bag from the base during
a use thereof by a cat. The ability of the cardboard 26 to maintain
the bag 14 in a conforming and tight fitting shape within the base
12 is illustrated in FIG. 2 as is the use of the drawstring 24
to effect a closure of the bag when desired.
FIGS. 4 5 6 and 7 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention
which is generally designed by the reference numeral 30. In this
respect, the embodiment 30 is provided with a plurality of nestably
stored bags 32 each of which is provided with a supply of conventional
litter 20 in the manner of the aforementioned bag 14. As shown,
the bag 32 is of a pleated construction and includes a drawstring
34 which is constructed of a thin metallic wire. The drawstring
34 operates to maintain a top edge 36 of the bag 32 in a rectangular
shape, but is still flexible enough to be drawn tightly in a manner
which will facilitate a closing of the bag when a disposal thereof
is desired.
While the wire 34 extends completely around a peripheral horizontal
edge of bag 32 it can be seen that there is also provided a plurality
of spaced-apart, vertically aligned wires 38 which are formed directly
in the bag material as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. These wires
38 may be formed of the same type of wire that the wire 34 is formed
from and they provide stiffness to the accordion shape of the bag
32 whereby it is maintained in its pleated form.
As shown in FIG. 4 once a bag 32 is opened for use by a cat, a
user can pull up one side of the bag whereby the pleats open in
an accordion-like manner and the wires 38 hold the bag upwardly
at a desired position as shown. In this configuration, a cat utilizing
the liter 20 in the bag 32 will be able to eject litter outwardly
from the bag in one direction only with three sides of bag serving
as a barrier against litter spillage around the base 12.
As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation
of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above
description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the
manner of usage and operation will be provided.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized
that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the
invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form,
function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily
apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent
relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described
in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present
invention.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of
the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications
and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is
not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and
operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications
and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of
the invention. |