Animal habitat and display system

• US 6,810,833 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2003
• Issued: 11/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: North American Pet Products
• Original Assignee: North American Pet Products
• Inventors: Knudsen, Eric R., Bonner, Ronald K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Carone, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Kimberly S.
• Application Number:
  US10/352,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20040144328A1
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• Field of Search: 119/455, 119/452, 119/417, 119/418, 119/248, 119/245, 119/253, 230/23.83, 230/23-7-
• US Class Current: 119/455
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/03 Housing for domestic or laboratory animals
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/032 Rabbit-hutches or cages
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 31/06 Cages , e.g. for singing birds for poultry A01K31/002
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 63/003 Aquaria; Terraria A01K63/04, A01K63/06 take precedence

Abstract

An animal habitat and display system provided in a frame having at least one set of guide rails supporting a pull-out drawer having at least one compartment with a viewing window and a movable wall section for gaining access into the compartment which defines an internal habitat environment. A selectively operable regulator element in communication with the internal environment is selectively operable via an environmental control unit having a control panel for regulating the internal habitat environment.

Claims

1. An environmentally controlled animal habitat and display system comprising:

a frame supporting at least one set of guide rails;

a drawer slidably received on said guide rails with said drawer being movable relative to said frame and including a tray secured said guide rails, said drawer including a tank resting on said tray forming at least one compartment having a front wall defining a window and a top wall being slidably movable relative to a bottom of wall of said compartment for gaining access thereto, said compartment defining an internal environment;

a bumper mounted on said frame and vertically aligned with a rear portion of said top wall, said bumper being operable to abut said top wall as a drawer in an extended position is slid back along said guide rails into a retracted position in said frame to close said compartment;

a selectively operable regulator element in communication with said internal environment for regulating said internal environment; and

an environmental control unit in electrical communication with said regulator element and including a control panel selectively operable to actuate said regulator element.

2. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said regulator element includes a heat transfer component constructed to transfer heat, when actuated, to a region within said compartment to regulate the temperature of said internal environment.

3. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 2 wherein:

said heat transfer component is selected from the group consisting of incandescent lamps, radiant heat lamps, infrared lamps, ceramic heat emitters, black lights, heating pads, hot rocks, heat tape, and undersubstrate hot blocks.

4. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 2 wherein:

said heat transfer component is a heat pad underlying a bottom wall of said compartment and said heat pad rests on an insulating pad.

5. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 4 wherein:

the temperature of said heat pad may be variably controlled with said control unit.

6. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said regulator element includes at least one lighting component constructed to transfer light, when actuated, to a region within said compartment to regulate the lighting in said internal environment.

7. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 6 wherein:

said lighting component is selected from the group consisting of fluorescent lamps, incandescent lamps, infrared lamps, and ultraviolet lamps.

8. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 6 wherein:

said lighting component is a fluorescent light constructed to substantially span the width of said drawer.

9. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 6 wherein:

said lighting component is a heat lamp positioned above each said compartment.

10. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 6 wherein:

said lighting component includes a heat shield to deflect heat away from a compartment above said lighting component and toward a compartment underneath said light component.

11. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said frame includes a plurality of drawers and compartments, each said compartment including a regulator element in the form of a heat transfer component for regulating temperature and a lighting component for regulating light in said internal environment, said components being electrically coupled to said control unit.

12. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 11 wherein:

said control panel includes a master switch operable to selectively activate all of said heat transfer components, and a bank of individual switches corresponding to individual of said heat transfer components and operable to selectively actuate a corresponding individual of said heat transfer components.

13. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 11 wherein:

said control panel includes a master switch operable to selectively activate all of said lighting components, and a bank of individual switches corresponding to individual of said lighting components and operable to selectively actuate a corresponding individual of said lighting components.

14. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 further including:

at least one auxiliary fan mounted on said frame for withdrawing heated air between drawers out of the back of said frame and withdraw cooler ambient air from the front of said frame across said regulating components.

15. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 14 wherein:

said auxiliary fan is mounted on a rear side of said frame near the bottom of said frame.

16. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said top wall is perforated for exchanging ambient air outside said compartment with air in said internal environment.

17. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said frame includes four sets of guide rails and four drawers, each drawer having three compartments.

18. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said compartment includes at least one divider separating said compartment into at least two sub-compartments.

19. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 18 wherein:

said dividers are positioned within said compartment dividing said compartment into a first sub-compartment defining a first volume and a second sub-compartment defining a second volume different from said first volume.

20. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said compartment includes a thermometer sensitive to a temperature in said internal environment.

21. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 20 wherein:

said thermometer is electronically coupled to said control unit.

22. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said drawer includes an outwardly projecting guide rail guard mounted above an adjacent guide rail to prevent debris from entering said guide rails.

23. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said control panel includes a keypad.

24. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said control panel includes an LCD panel.

25. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said control panel includes a touch screen.

26. An animal habitat and display system comprising:

a frame supporting a plurality of guide rail sets, each of said guide rail sets being telescopically coupled to a tray supporting a lighting component including a plurality of heating lamps and a fluorescent lamp positioned to project light in a downward direction;

an open topped rectangular tank resting atop each said tray and disposed beneath said lamps of an adjacent tray when said tray is in a closed position, said tank having a front wall with a transparent window region and at least one divider defining sub-compartments with discrete internal environments within said tank, said tank further including a slidably mounted perforated lid for each said sub-compartment movable relative to said tank for gaining access to said respective sub-compartment;

a heating element on said tray and underlying said bottom wall of each said sub-compartment;

a first locking component mounted to a back side of said frame and opposing a rear facing side of each tray;

a second locking component connected to the back side of each tray aligned with said first locking component for magnetically coupling to said first locking component when said locking components abut one another;

a controller in electrical communication with each said heating element, each said lamp, and said locking components, said controller including a control panel with a first control region for selectively operating said heating elements, a second control region for selectively operating said lamps and an access control region for selectively unlocking said locking components in order to move a selected tray on said rails in a forward direction to an extended position.

27. An environmentally controlled animal habitat and display system comprising:

a frame supporting at least one set of guide rails;

a drawer slidably received on said guide rails with said drawer being movable relative to said frame, said drawer including at least one compartment having a front wall defining a window and at least one wall being movable relative to a bottom of wall of said compartment for gaining access thereto, said compartment defining an internal environment;

a selectively operable regulator element in communication with said internal environment for regulating said internal environment;

an environmental control unit in electrical communication with said regulator element and including a control panel selectively operable to actuate said regulator element; and

a magnetic lock on said frame and aligned with a metallic portion of each said drawer, said magnetic lock being electronically coupled to said control unit and operable to release said drawer upon receiving an unlock signal from said control unit, said control unit being operable to selectively release said magnetic lock on a selected drawer whereby said drawer may be extended on said guide rails.

28. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 27 wherein:

said regulator element includes a heat transfer component constructed to transfer heat, when actuated, to a region within said compartment to regulate the temperature of said internal environment.

29. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 28 wherein:

said heat transfer component is selected from the group consisting of incandescent lamps, radiant heat lamps, infrared lamps, ceramic heat emitters, black lights, heating pads, hot rocks, heat tape, and undersubstrate hot blocks.

30. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 28 wherein:

said heat transfer component is a heat pad underlying a bottom wall of said compartment and said heat pad rests on an insulating pad.

31. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 30 wherein:

the temperature of said heat pad may be variably controlled with said control unit.

32. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 27 wherein:

said regulator element includes at least one lighting component constructed to transfer light, when actuated, to a region within said compartment to regulate the lighting in said internal environment.

33. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 32 wherein:

said lighting component is selected from the group consisting of fluorescent lamps, incandescent lamps, infrared lamps, and ultraviolet lamps.

34. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 32 wherein:

said lighting component includes a heat shield to deflect heat away from a compartment above said lighting component and toward a compartment underneath said light component.

35. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 27 wherein:

said frame includes a plurality of drawers and compartments, each said compartment including a regulator element in the form of a heat transfer component for regulating temperature and a lighting component for regulating light in said internal environment, said components being electrically coupled to said control unit.

36. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 35 further including:

at least one auxiliary fan mounted on said frame for withdrawing heated air between drawers out of the back of said frame and withdraw cooler ambient air from the front of said frame across said regulating components.

37. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 35 wherein:

said control panel includes a master switch operable to selectively activate all of said heat transfer components, and a bank of individual switches corresponding to individual of said heat transfer components and operable to selectively actuate a corresponding individual of said heat transfer components.

38. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 35 wherein:

said control panel includes a master switch operable to selectively activate all of said lighting components, and a bank of individual switches corresponding to individual of said lighting components and operable to selectively actuate a corresponding individual of said lighting components.

39. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 27 wherein:

said frame includes four sets of guide rails and four drawers, each drawer having three compartments.

40. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 27 wherein:

said compartment includes at least one divider separating said compartment into at least two sub-compartments.

41. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 40 wherein:

said dividers are positioned within said compartment dividing said compartment into a first sub-compartment defining a first volume and a second sub-compartment defining a second volume different from said first volume.

42. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 27 wherein:

said compartment includes a thermometer sensitive to a temperature in said internal environment.

43. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 42 wherein:

said thermometer is electronically coupled to said control unit.

44. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 27 wherein:

said drawer includes an outwardly projecting guide rail guard mounted above an adjacent guide rail to prevent debris from entering said guide rails.

45. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 27 wherein:

said control panel includes an input device selected from the group consisting of a keypad, LCD panel, and touch screen.

46. The animal habitat and display system as set forth in claim 27 wherein:

said control panel is programmed to receive a coded input to selectively release at least one of said magnetic locks.