Abstrict A disposable cat litter box is disclosed comprising a liner pan
for receiving cat litter, with the liner pan having an open top,
bottom and sides and cat litter disposed in the liner pan. A disposal
bag having an opening at least equal to the bottom of the liner
pan and a drawstring around the opening is attached to the bottom
of the exterior of the liner pan with the opening of the disposal
bag around the sides of the liner pan. A covering lid is secured
to the top of the liner pan to hold the cat litter inside the liner
pan with a tear cord for removing the lid from the liner pan to
expose the cat litter during use. After use, pulling on the drawstring
causes the opening of the bag to cover the open top and fully enclose
the liner pan and any used cat litter therein. Other embodiments
are also disclosed.
Claims I claim:
1. A disposable cat litter system comprising:
a litter bag containing cat litter and having at least one generally
flat side;
a disposal bag attached to said litter bag side, said disposal
bag having an opening large enough to encircle the litter bag and
a drawstring means around said opening,
whereby said litter bag can be placed in a cat litter pan with
the one bag side downward with the disposal bag opening arranged
around the edges of the pan and whereby the litter bag may be opened
to expose said cat litter for use by a cat and after use the drawstring
can be used to fully enclose the litter bag and used cat litter
for easy disposal thereof.
2. The disposable cat litter system according to claim 1 wherein
the litter bag on at least its downward side is made of a material
strong enough to withstand clawing by a cat's paws without forming
holes therein.
3. The disposable cat litter system according to claim 1 wherein
the litter bag has a tear cord for opening the litter bag and exposing
the cat litter for use.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a disposable cat litter system
which can be provided either with cat litter or without cat litter.
The handling of cat litter is a concern to millions of cat owners.
The cleaning and filling of a cat box, and the handling of cat waste
and litter are considered to be the biggest drawbacks to owning
a cat. Further, a parasite sometimes found in cat droppings can
cause toxoplasmosis, a harmful condition which is particularly dangerous
to pregnant women. Further, some research reportedly has shown that
the use of a litter box for one's cat can extend the cat's life
by several years and make contracting fleas, ticks and certain diseases
less likely.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cat litter
system which results in easier, safer and less unpleasant handling
of cat litter.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a cat
litter system which is disposable when it is filled.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a cat
litter system which can be provided either with or without cat litter
at the distribution stage, the former for providing an already complete
system for cat litter, and the latter for allowing cat owners to
use a cat litter of their choice in the cat litter system according
to the invention.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cat
litter system which will virtually eliminate a cat owner's handling
of any of the cat litter after it is used. By providing a cat litter
system in accordance with the present invention, a cat owner is
much more likely to supply fresh cat litter on a more frequent basis
for the cat, thereby reducing the amount of unpleasant odors, and
growth of bacteria, disease, fleas and ticks posing a problem to
both the cat and the cat owner.
In accordance with the present invention a disposable cat litter
system is provided comprising a liner pan for receiving cat litter,
said liner pan having an open top, a bottom and sides. The cat litter
system also comprises a disposal bag having an opening at least
equal to the bottom of the liner pan, the disposal bag being attached
to at least the bottom of the exterior of the liner pan with the
opening of the disposal bag around the sides of the liner pan. In
this arrangement, pulling on the opening of the bag to cover the
open top of and fully enclose the liner pan and any used cat litter
therein. According to this form of the invention, the cat litter
box may or may not be provided with cat litter, and in the latter
case the cat owner can use any cat litter of his choosing in the
cat litter system.
According to another form of the invention, a disposable cat litter
box is provided comprising a liner pan for receiving cat litter,
said liner pan having an open top, a bottom and sides. The liner
pan is provided with cat litter disposed therein. A disposal bag
is also provided having an opening at least equal to the bottom
of the liner pan and a draw string means around the opening, with
the disposal bag being attached to at least the bottom of the exterior
of the liner pan with the opening of the disposal bag around the
sides of the liner pan. A covering lid is secured to the top of
the liner pan to hold the cat litter inside the liner pan, with
the covering lid having means for removing the lid from the liner
pan to expose the cat litter during use. In this arrangement, pulling
on the draw string means causes the opening of the bag to cover
the opened top of and fully enclose the liner pan and any used cat
litter therein.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a disposable
cat litter system is provided comprising a litter bag containing
cat litter and having at least one generally flat side, and a disposal
bag attached to said litter bag side, said disposal bag having an
opening large enough to encircle the litter bag whereby said litter
bag can be placed in a cat litter pan with the one bag side downward
and with the disposal bag opening arranged around the edges of the
pan, and whereby the litter bag may be opened to exposed said cat
litter for use by a cat and after use the disposal bag can be used
to fully enclose the litter bag and used cat litter for easy disposal
thereof.
Other objects and advantages in accordance with the invention will
become apparent from the following detailed description, appended
claims and accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded view, in perspective, of one embodiment of
a disposable cat litter system in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 is an elevational view, in cross section, of a section of
the cat litter system shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an elevational view showing the various steps in making
the embodiment of the cat litter system shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4A is an exploded view of a variation of the disposable cat
litter system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4B is a top plan view of the tear cord cover of the embodiment
of FIG. 4A;
FIG. 4C is an elevational view, in cross section, of a section
of the cat litter system shown in FIG. 4A; and
FIG. 5 is an alternative embodiment of a cat litter system in accordance
with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view the basic elements of
a first embodiment of a cat litter system according to the invention.
The cat litter device 10 comprises a liner pan 12 preferably made
of cardboard having a bottom 14 and sides 16 in a generally rectangular
configuration. As shown in FIG. 1 the liner pan also has a top edge
18 extending inwardly around its periphery. Disposed generally beneath
pan 12 is a disposal bag 20 having an opening 22 and a drawstring
24 with a handle 26. The drawstring 24 extends entirely around the
opening 22. A tear cord 28 is also provided around the entire periphery
of the liner pan 12 as shown in FIG. 1. The purpose of this tear
cord will be described below.
Also shown in FIG. 1 is a bag holding band 30 which is positioned
around the sides of the liner pan 12 to hold the disposal bag 20
in place. This bag holding band 30 is preferred, but is not needed
according to the invention. A cover lid 32 in the form of a paper
wrapper is shown having a top portion 34 and downwardly extending
side portions 36 which, when the assembly is complete, fall on the
outside of sides 16 of the liner pan 12. As shown in FIG. 1 a glue
lip is provided between the edges of the top portion 34 of the paper
wrapper cover lid 32 and the upper edge 18 of the liner pan 12.
The paper wrapper cover lid 32 defines a filling hole 38 which
functions to both allow cat litter to be inserted into the assembly
during manufacture, if desired, and also for allowing the end of
the tear cord 28 to protrude therefrom to enable grasping thereof
by a user to remove the top of the paper wrapper cover lid to expose
the cat litter beneath. A filling hole patch 40 is provided for
covering the filling hole after the cat litter is inserted therethrough
during manufacture. The patch 40 will of course allow the end of
the tear cord 28 to be exposed to enable grasping thereof by a user.
Turning now to FIG. 3 the steps for assembling the embodiment
shown in FIG. 1 and 2 will now be described. The first step constitutes
positioning the tear cord 28 around the upper edge of a liner pan
12 as shown in step 1. A disposal bag 20 is then glued to the exterior
of the liner pan 12 at the bottom 14 and around all four sides 16
as seen in step 2. The disposal bag 20 is then folded back so that
the opening 22 of the bag and the top opening of the liner pan 12
are aligned as shown in step 3 with the drawstring handle 26 positioned
at one side of the liner pan with a substantial portion of the bag
bunched up at this one side as shown. The circumferences of the
disposal bag opening 22 and the liner pan opening are about the
same so that the opening 22 of the bag fits snugly about the opening
of the liner pan 12. As shown in step 4 a bag holding band 30 may
then be positioned about the sides of the liner pan to hold the
disposal bag in place.
In the present state, the assembly comprises one form of the invention
wherein cat litter is not provided as part of the litter system.
The present assembly could be made and sold, with the user obtaining
his own cat litter separately, of this own choosing, and filling
the disposable cat litter box by himself. However, in accordance
with another form of the invention, cat litter and other elements
are combined with the present assembly to provide a complete cat
litter packaging system.
As shown in step 5 of FIG. 3 the drawstring handle 26 is shown
placed inside the liner pan 12 and the liner pan is then wrapped
with the cover lid 34 which is preferably made of heavy brown paper
or the like, by gluing the cover lid to the inwardly extending top
edge 18 of the liner pan 12 (see FIG. 2). While this is being done,
care is taken to leave the end of the tear cord 28 accessible by
the filling hole 38 in the cover lid. As shown in step 6 of FIG.
3 the assembly would be filled with litter via the filling hole,
and the filling hole is then sealed by gluing on a filling hole
patch 40.
A modified version of the disposable cat litter system of the FIG.
1 embodiment is shown in FIGS. 4A-4C. In this modified version,
the tear cord is replaced by a cardboard tear cord cover 42 having
a cut line 44 which extends about one-inch inwardly of the periphery
as shown. In this arrangement, the user obtains access to the cardboard
tear cord cover by punching a hole through the filling hole patch
40 and then grasps the corner 44a of the tear cord cover to effect
a tearing and removal of the top of the cover lid 34 in the same
manner as in the embodiment of FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the liner
pan 12 has squared-off corners so that it can accommodate a standard
cat litter box cover.
As shown in FIG. 5 an alternative embodiment of the invention
comprises a litter bag 50 containing cat litter 52 and having a
tear cord 54 for opening the litter bag. Attached to one side of
the litter bag 50 is a disposal bag 56. The disposal bag 56 has
an opening large enough to fully encircle the bag as shown in steps
2-4 of FIG. 5 and has a drawstring provided around the opening,
with a drawstring disposal handle 58 also being provided.
The litter bag can be placed in a cat litter pan 60 of preferably
rigid construction having a bottom and upwardly extending sides,
with the one bag side of the litter bag downward so that the disposal
bag opening is arranged around the edges of the pan. The litter
bag may then be opened with the drawstring to expose the cat litter
for use by a cat. After use, the drawstring can be used to fully
enclose the litter bag and used cat litter for easy disposal thereof.
The litter bag on at least its downward side is preferably made
of a material strong enough to withstand clawing by a cat's paws
without forming holes therein, so that it serves as a protective
layer in addition to being a litter bag for holding the cat litter.
While particular embodiments of a cat litter system have been shown
and described, numerous variations and modifications to the preferred
embodiments will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The
invention is therefor not limited to the preferred embodiments illustrated
and described, but is limited only by way of the appended claims
and equivalents thereof. |