Small animal shipping assembly

• US 20060185614A1
• Filed: 02/22/2005
• Published: 08/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marshall Farms Group Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Marshall Farms Group Ltd.
• Inventors: Van Fleet, Kenneth Louis Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,270,084 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 119/496
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/0245 Boxes or cages

Abstract

A pet shipping assembly for small animals includes a container and a container lid. The container includes a base wall and a side wall extending upwardly from the base wall. The side wall can include a plurality of vent holes. An interior wall extends from the base wall and/or the side wall to create a food/water compartment. The container lid is configured to selectively attach to the side wall of the container. The container lid includes at least one food/water opening located on the lid such that when the lid is attached to the side wall to cover the inside of the container, the food/water opening in the lid is generally aligned with the food/water compartment in the container.

Claims

1. A pet shipping assembly for a small animal, the assembly comprising:

a base wall;

a side wall extending upwardly from the base wall, wherein the base wall and the side wall define at least a portion of an animal compartment in which small animals can be placed;

an interior wall extending from at least one of the base wall and the side wall and defining a food/water compartment;

a container lid configured for selective attachment to the side wall, the container lid including at least one food/water opening located such that when the container lid is attached to the side wall to at least substantially cover the animal compartment the food/water opening is generally aligned with the food/water compartment.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the base wall includes a receptacle and the container lid includes an extension configured to cooperate with the receptacle to space the container of a first shipping assembly lid from the base wall of a second shipping assembly when the assemblies are stacked on top of one another.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the side wall includes a plurality of vent holes.

4. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising compartment lid configured for selective attachment to the interior wall.

5. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the compartment lid includes a hole located in the compartment lid such that when the compartment lid is attached to the interior wall and the container lid is attached to the side wall to at least substantially cover the animal compartment the food/water opening of the container lid is aligned with the hole in the compartment lid.

6. The assembly of claim 4, further comprising a pin extending from the interior wall and the compartment lid includes a pin opening configured to receive the pin when the compartment lid attaches to the interior wall.

7. The assembly of claim 4, further comprising a ledge extending inwardly from the side wall, and flange extending from the compartment lid configured to rest on the ledge.

8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the container lid includes a plurality of vent holes.

9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the container lid includes a sloped surface portion adjacent to and sloping towards the food/water opening.

10. The assembly of claim 9, wherein the container lid includes an upwardly extending stand off adjacent the sloped surface portion and the food/water opening, wherein the sloped surface portion slopes toward the stand off.

11. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the side wall includes fastener openings, and wherein the container lid includes fastener openings that are positioned to align with the fastener openings in the side wall when the container lid is attached to the side wall to at least substantially cover the animal compartment.

12. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a peripheral wall depending from an upper surface of the container lid, the peripheral wall terminating to provide an opening for sliding the container lid over the side wall.

13. The assembly of claim 12, further comprising a retaining finger extending from the peripheral side wall of the container lid and a ledge extending from the side wall of the container, wherein the retaining finger of the container lid engages the ledge of the side wall of the container when the container lid is slid onto the side wall of the container.

14. A shipping assembly for small animals, the assembly comprising:

a container having a base wall and a side wall extending from the base wall, wherein the side wall and the base wall define an animal compartment in which small animals can be placed;

a container lid adapted to selectively connect to the container for providing selective access to the animal compartment, the container lid including a plurality of vent holes;

at least one standoff extending from at least one of the container and the container lid; and

at least one standoff receptacle disposed in the other of the at least one of the container and the container lid, the at least one standoff receptacle being configured to cooperate with the at least one standoff such that when an associated container having the same configuration is stacked on the container lid the at least one standoff and the at least one standoff receptacle cooperate with one another.

15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the container includes at least one food/water compartment disposed inside the animal compartment.

16. The assembly of claim 15, further comprising a food/water compartment lid for selectively covering at least a portion of the food/water compartment.

17. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the container lid includes a food/water opening that aligns over the food/water compartment when the container lid is connected to the side wall covering the animal compartment.

18. A container for a small animal shipping assembly comprising a base wall and an integral side wall that extends upwardly from the base wall, the side wall having a solid lower portion adjacent the base wall and a vented upper portion that contains a plurality of vent holes.

19. The container of claim 18, further comprising an interior wall integral with and extending from both the solid lower portion of the side wall and the base wall to define a food/water compartment.

20. The container of claim 18, wherein the base wall includes a receptacle formed in a lower surface.