AU2475501A - Lavatory for pets - Google Patents

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): SHIPPAX OY Invention Title: LAVATORY FOR PETS 000.

0 0* 0 0 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 1A Lavatory for pets The object of the invention is a lavatory intended for pets, particularly for dogs and cats.

The habit of keeping pets in city-like circumstances is continuously increasing.

Pavements, parks, lawns and yards become dirty by the excrements of the pets, which is an increasing hygienic problem. A way to tackle the problem is that a person taking out a dog picks up the dog's excrements in a container or plastic bag which the person carried with him. Obviously such a cleaning operation is unpleasant and therefore it is easily left undone.

The European patent publication EP 154540 describes a lavatory for small pets, such as cats, intended to be located indoors. Above a basin there is a movable rake which transports the solid wastes to the edge of the basin, where they fall down into a rotating drum located under the basin, whereby the drum functions as a waste collecting container, which contains some odour-removing substance.

The drum can be detached from the device, so that it may be emptied from time 15 to time, The European patent publication EP 721731 presents a cat sand plate with a manure fork as a means for separating sand and waste.

US patent No. 4067297 presents a round self-cleaning enclosure for livestock, S. :comprising a round basin, made of concrete, and a cleaning unit. The purpose of 20 the cleaning unit is to remove as much material from the basin floor as possible.

This apparatus is suitable only for very large scale and high efficiency livestock production.

In the apparatus presented in the patent publication EP 154540 the waste collecting and processing container is located below the basin. An arrangement of that kind is not suitable for large lavatories particularly for dogs, intended to be located outdoors or in covered public places.

The object of this invention is to provide a lavatory for dogs and cats which is particularly intended to be located outdoors or in covered public places, and where the diameter of the sand basin is relatively large, preferably about 2.5 to 3

M.

The object is particularly to provide a device which is reliable and easily and rapidly cleaned, and where a person does not have to be close to the pet excrements. The operation and maintenance of a device of this kind require that all essential components for collecting and processing the was te are located above the basin.

Thus the object of the invention is a device intended as a lavatory for pets which comprises at least a round basin for sand, :15 a cleaning unit, which substantially covers a sector of the basin, and an electric motor.

The basin and the cleaning unit are arranged to be movable in relation to each other, so that the cleaning unit or basin is rotatable around a vertical axle passing through the centre of the basin, whereby said movement between the basin and the cleaning unit gets its driving force from the electric motor.

Said cleaning unit (20) is intended for cleaning the sand and it comprises a frame (2 and means fastened to the frame (2 1) for separating waste and sand.

The invention is 'characterised in that all the necessary components of the cleaning unit (20) are located above the basin The invention is described below with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which Figure 1 shows schematically in a perspective view an embodiment of the device according to the invention, Figure 2 shows schematically in a perspective view another embodiment of the device according to the invention, and Figure 3 shows schematically a detail of an embodiment of the device according to the invention in a vertical section as seen from the side.

The figures 1 and 2 show a device according to the invention which comprises a round basin 10, which contains sand, and a cleaning unit 20 arranged above the basin and intended for the cleaning of the sand. The horizontal section of the cleaning unit 20 corresponds approximately to a certain sector of the basin. The frame 21 of the cleaning unit can be an open crate, or at least partly box-like. A vertical axle 11 passes through the centre of the basin. The frame 21 of the cleaning unit extends from the vertical axle 11 to the periphery 12 of the basin.

The frame 21 is supported by the vertical axle 11 and to the periphery 12 by a 15 driving wheel 29 so that the cleaning unit 20 can rotate around the centre of the basin. The driving wheel 29 is rotated by an electric motor 46 via a belt 54, as best seen in figure 3.

In the example of figure 1 the power for the electric motor 46 is conducted via a cable 48. In the example of figure 2, the power source is an accumulator 20 which is loaded with solar energy. For that purpose solar panels 52 are arranged on the frame 21. In figure 1 a current collecting device 56 is arranged on the frame 21 between the cable 48 and the electric motor 46.

The electric motor 46 is driven manually by the user of the invention. When a person pushes the power button 22 the electric motor 46 rotates the driving wheel 29. Thereby the whole cleaning unit 20 moves around the vertical axle 11 in relation to the basin 10 in the direction of the arrows in figures 1 and 2.

Required separating means are connected to the frame 21 in order to separate the pet excrements from the sand. In the embodiments of the invention in figures 1, 2 and 3 the separating means of the cleaning unit 20 comprise a comb section 33a which is supported on the frame 21 of the unit and inclined toward the bottom of the basin 10. The comb section 33a extends to the bottom of the basin whereby it filters the sand when the cleaning unit 20 is rotated around the centre of the basin.

The comb section 33a lifts any excrements 40 in the sand. Behind the comb section 33a there is arranged a wire conveyor belt 33b which moves in the direction of the arrows in figures 1 and 2, that is, in the direction of the basin radius, so that the upper part of the belt 33b moves towards the centre of the basin 10. The excrements 40 are retained on the upper side of the belt 33b, and fall into a sewer 24 arranged below the basin. Optionally, the waste could be arranged to fall into a container carried in the frame 21 or it could be collected by some other means. The belt 33b moves around the axles 34a and 34b. The axle 34b located close to the basin's periphery is the driving axle which receives its rotational motion from the rotational motion of a geared driving wheel 29 via a gear 18.

The reference numeral 30 indicates a pipe provided with nozzles 31 and mounted on the frame 21 of the cleaning unit. The nozzles 31 can spray disinfectant from the container 32 on the cleaned sand. The disinfectant pump (not shown) is preferable driven by the electric motor 46, whereby the spraying occurs when the cleaning unit 20 is moved.

One sees that in the advantageous embodiments presented in the figures all the necessary components of the cleaning unit 20 are located above the basin In figures 1 and 2 the sewer 24 conducts the waste removed from the basin into a tank 42. The tank 42 has an outlet 44, which may be connected e.g. to a public sewer system. One possibility would be that the tank 42 is arranged to be emptied regularly e.go. by a tank lorry via the outlet 44.

The pole 14 surrounding the vertical axle I11 of the basin is intended for male dogs. The bottom of the basin is provided with holes 15 at the periphery and at the central area in order to remove moisture. At the bottom of the basin there may be an electrical resistance 16 in order to melt any ice and to dry the sand. Most preferably all the separating means are located within the circle forme -d by the basin 10. It is also possible to fasten a levelling device, such as a horizontal metal plate, to the frame 21 of the cleaning unit for levelling the sand.

The bottom profile of the basin 10 can be slightly conical in order to lead water and urine to the central region of the basin, which suitably contains an opening leading to the sewer 24.

A person taking out a dog, can ensure that the device is clean for the dog by rotating the cleaning unit 20 one turn around the basin 10. After using the basin the person can again turn the cleaning unit one turn, so that the sand is clean for the next pet.

:0 The device can also be covered, whereby the sand is better kept dry. The sand can be e.g. ordinary unscreened gravel, or a fraction screened from it, expanded clay, cat sand which effectively absorbs moisture. If the device has a cover, the solar panels 52 are suitably arranged on that cover.

The essential fact is that the basin 10 and the cleaning unit 20 are arranged to be g~j~!movable in relation to each other, Alternatively this may be arranged so that the clanngunt sstationary adhectlbsiisrotatable around its centre.

.*-The motion of the conveyor belt 33b can also be generated with the aid of an :electric motor. The diameter of the basin is suitably 2.5 to 3 m. The above described device is well suited to be placed in parks and yards.

The above mentioned embodiments of the invention are only examples of the realisation of the inventive idea. One has to understand that the examples are presented in the figures only schematically. Not all components that are known per se, such as electric wires or structures that attach the components to the frame 21, are presented in the figures. To a person skilled in the art it is obvious that different embodiments of the invention may vary within the scope of the claims presented below.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

For the purposes of this specification it will be clearly understood that the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to", and that the word "comprises" has a corresponding meaning.

oa