Pet litter box

• US 7,380,519 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2006
• Issued: 06/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Original Assignee: Uni-Charm Petcare Corporation
• Inventors: Matsuo, Takayuki, Ikegami, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mansen; Michael R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Xavier; Valentina
• Application Number:
  US11/426,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20060288948A1
• Time in Patent Office: 711 Days
• Field of Search: 119/161, 119/165, 119/166, 119/169, 119/432
• US Class Current: 119/167
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/0107 Cat trays; Dog urinals; Toilets for pets

Abstract

A pet litter box includes a litter container for storing liquid-passing litter and a liquid-absorbing sheet tray for holding a liquid-absorbing sheet. The front-back direction of the liquid-absorbing sheet can be changed without removing the liquid-absorbing sheet from the tray. The pet litter box includes a litter box main body having an opening from which pets enter. The litter box main body includes a litter container for storing liquid-passing litter formed of plural of granular materials provided therein, a liquid-absorbing sheet placed below the litter container for absorbing the liquid passing through the litter, and a liquid-absorbing sheet tray for holding the liquid-absorbing sheet. The liquid absorbing sheet tray can be withdrawn and removed from the front of the litter box main body and reversible in the front-back direction.

Claims

1. A method of handling pet waste using a pet litter box, said pet litter box comprising:

a litter box main body including;

a litter container for holding liquid-passing granular litter, the litter container including a bottom plate having a plurality of apertures sized for preventing the granular litter from falling out;

a liquid-absorbing sheet disposed below the litter container for absorbing the liquid passed through the litter; and

a liquid-absorbing sheet tray for holding the liquid-absorbing sheet, the liquid-absorbing sheet tray including;

opposite front and rear walls which are curved toward each other and toward an interior of the liquid-absorbing sheet tray to define two concave curves, respectively;

a first handle attached to an outside of the front wall and at a central portion of the concave curve defined by the front wall; and

a second handle attached to an outside of the rear wall and at a central portion of the concave curve defined by the rear wall;

wherein

a rear opening is formed in a rear wall of the litter container for allowing the first or second handle to protrude through the rear opening to an outside of the litter container when the liquid-absorbing sheet tray is placed below the bottom plate of the litter container; and

said liquid-absorbing sheet tray is removable from and insertable under the bottom plate through a front opening formed in a front wall of the litter container, and is reversible in the front-back direction so that any of (i) the front wall with the first handle and (ii) the rear wall with the second handle of the liquid-absorbing sheet tray can pass through the front opening of the litter container when the liquid-absorbing sheet tray is inserted under the bottom plate of the litter container;

said method comprising the steps of;

removing the liquid-absorbing sheet tray from under the bottom plate through the front opening of the litter container by holding and pulling one of the first and second handles;

reversing, in the front-back direction, said liquid-absorbing sheet tray; and

re-inserting the reversed liquid-absorbing sheet tray through the front opening of the litter container by holding and pushing the other one of the first and second handles.