Pet toilet

• US 7,568,448 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2005
• Issued: 08/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KAO Corporation
• Original Assignee: KAO Corporation
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Jun, Yamada, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): ABBOTT, YVONNE RENEE
• Application Number:
  US11/661,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20080035069A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: 119/166, 119/165, 119/167, 119/170, 119/161, 119/479
• US Class Current: 119/166
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/0114 Litter boxes with screens for separating excrement from litter

Abstract

A pet toilet 10 having a toilet box 13, a drainboard 14 partitioning the toilet box into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, an excreta treating material 15 laid in the upper compartment, and an urine absorbent member 11 laid in the lower compartment. The drainboard is an integral structure formed of a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs 17 spaced parallel with each other and a plurality of transversely extending ribs 18a and 18b intersecting the longitudinally extending ribs 17 and spaced parallel with each other to have drain holes 12. Each drain hole 12 has a longitudinal dimension S2 at least twice its transverse dimension S1. The transversely extending ribs include ribs 18a with a smaller height H1 from the drainboard surface 14a downward and ribs 18b with a larger height H2 from the drainboard surface 14a downward, the ribs 18a and the ribs 18b alternating with each other.

Claims

1. A pet toilet comprising a toilet box, a drainboard partitioning the toilet box into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, an excreta treating material laid in the upper compartment, and an urine absorbent member laid in the lower compartment,

the drainboard being integrally constructed of a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs spaced parallel with each other and a plurality of transversely extending ribs intersecting the longitudinally extending ribs and spaced parallel with each other to have drain holes,

each drain hole having a longitudinal dimension at least twice the transverse dimension thereof, and

the height of the transversely extending rib measured from the upper surface of the drainboard downward being different from that of at least one of adjacent transversely extending ribs.

2. The pet toilet according to claim 1, wherein the height of the rib with the least height of all the ribs measured from the surface of the drainboard downward being at least 0.8 times the transverse dimension of the drain hole.

3. The pet toilet according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the transverse dimension of the drain hole is 2 to 8 mm.

4. A pet toilet comprising a toilet box, a drainboard partitioning the toilet box into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, a water-repellent excreta treating material laid in the upper compartment, and an urine absorbent member laid in the lower compartment,

the drainboard being integrally constructed of a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs spaced parallel with each other and a plurality of transversely extending ribs intersecting the longitudinally extending ribs and spaced parallel with each other to have drain holes,

each drain hole having a longitudinal dimension at least twice the transverse dimension thereof, and

the height of the rib with the least height of all the ribs measured from the surface of the drainboard downward being at least 0.8 times the transverse dimension of the drain hole.

5. A pet toilet comprising a toilet box, a drainboard partitioning the toilet box into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, an excreta treating material laid in the upper compartment, and an urine absorbent member laid in the lower compartment,

the lower compartment containing the urine absorbent member having a drawer slidably removable in one direction from the lower compartment,

the drainboard being integrally constructed of a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs extending in a direction making an angle within 45°

with the sliding direction of the drawer and spaced parallel with each other and a plurality of transversely extending ribs intersecting the longitudinally extending ribs and spaced parallel with each other, and

the height of the longitudinally extending rib with the largest height of all the longitudinally extending ribs measured from the surface of the drainboard downward being larger than the height of any transversely extending rib disposed within an area where the drawer is movable.

6. The pet toilet according to claim 5, wherein the longitudinally extending ribs extend in a direction making an angle within 30°

with the sliding direction of the drawer.

7. The pet toilet according to claim 5, wherein the height of the rib with the least height of all the ribs measured from the surface of the drainboard downward is at least 0.8 times the transverse dimension of the drain hole.

8. The pet toilet according to claim 5, wherein the transverse dimension of the drain hole is 2 to 8 mm.

9. The pet toilet according to claim 5, wherein the downward height of the longitudinally extending ribs is larger than the downward height of the transversely extending ribs by 0.1 mm or more.