Multiple function animal training system with extendable ramp
A multi-purpose furniture structure and system can be used for caring for an animal throughout the life of the animal. For small animals such as puppies, this furniture system can be used to train the animal to behave in a desired manner. Animal toys are stored in the animal living space as well. Animals can use a detachable ramp member to climb to the top of the furniture structure. The ramp is extendable allowing for the ability to vary the length of the ramp. This feature enables the owner to change the angle of inclination of the ramp to accommodate animals that may have difficulty climbing steeper ramp inclines. For larger or older animals, the extendable ramp can serve a bed or as a means to help the animal get into the bed of the owner. The furniture piece can be positioned adjacent an owner's bed.
This application is a continuation-in-part of and is related to and claims priority from utility patent application Ser. No. 11/121797 filed on May 4, 2005, and from utility patent application Ser. No. 11/287,716 filed Nov. 28, 2005, the contents of both application which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to furniture for an animal and in particular to a piece of furniture that has multiple configurations and can function in multiple ways to accommodate various desires of the animal at any stage of growth. More particularly this invention describes a detachable and extendable ramp member attached to the furniture structure. The extendable ramp allows the owner to vary to ramp length and thereby decrease the angle of inclination during the animal climb.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFor many people, pet animals are literally members of the family. Some of these pets live inside the home with the owner and have many accessories designed specially for the animal. As with the ‘dog houses’ kept in the yard, some of the furnishings provide a place for the animal to dwell as well providing a storage place for the toys of the animal. One convention piece of animal furniture is a bed. There have been many types of animal beds. These beds come in various designs. Some of the designs include beds shaped as different types of animals. Many beds in form of animal designs are made of a cushion material to facilitate animal comfort.
One animal bed U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,065 describes an animal bed that includes an annular bed frame defining an interior chamber. A perforated top wall is supported at its periphery by the bed frame to receive and support the animal above the chamber. The perforated top wall is composed of a non-woven fabric material to provide a hammock like suspension for the animal, and to permit small insects to fall through the top wall. The chamber is dimensioned to provide a space below the top wall sufficient to inhibit the insects from traveling upwardly through the top wall. An insect exterminating composition contained within the chamber receives the falling insects and destroys them.
U.S. Pat. No. d288,970 describes a combined animal bed and housing unit. This design has a bed mat resting on a storage unit. The bed also has a canopy covering the mat. The animal would rest on the mat and would be covered by the canopy.
Although the animal bed is a common piece of furniture for the inside pet, animals do more than just sleep. For indoor animals, there is a need for the animal to know when, where and how to ‘use the bathroom’. Cats usually have a litter box for waste. Many pets and owners have a system by which the pet is let out of the house on a periodic basis to relieve themselves. Pets also have toys with which they play. One particular thing some pets like to do is to climb up on the owner's bed. The climbing is necessary because many pets cannot jump high enough to reach the surface of the bed in one jump. The climbing process results in the pet pulling and sometimes tearing the bed linen. Pets also do not stay the same size. As the pet grows, it is often necessary to replace a piece of animal furniture with a different type of furniture or a larger size of the same furniture.
With all of the different types of animal furniture that is available to accommodate the many needs of the pet and pet owner, there remains a need for a multiple function piece of animal furniture. The animal throughout the animal's life can use this piece of furniture. Basically, the piece of furniture can serve as an indoor dwelling for the animal. This piece of furniture could assist in ‘potty training animals and well as other behavior training. The multiple function furniture piece can also have components that enable the animal climb up the furniture and get into an owner's bed. Further, this furniture piece can serve as an elevated bed for larger animals.
For some younger and some older animals, climbing onto the furniture piece may be difficult. We the assistance of a ramp, the climb would be easier. However, in some instances the inclination angle of the ramp on the furniture piece may still be to steep for the animal to easily climb onto the furniture piece. There remains a need for a means to adjust the inclination angle of a ramp member such that an animal can easily climb the ramp member to the top of the furniture piece.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an objective of the present invention to provide a multiple purpose animal furniture system that can accommodate uses of animals at all ages.
It is a second objective of the present invention to provide a multiple purpose piece of animal furniture with modular components to provide the capability to reconfigure the furniture as needed.
It is a third objective of the present invention to provide a training cage to assist in training of small animals for indoor living.
It is a fourth objective of the present invention to provide a portable piece of animal furniture that can be positioned adjacent to an owner's bed.
It is a fifth objective of the present invention to provide a detachable and extendable ramp member to assist animals in climbing to the top of the multiple purpose piece of animal furniture.
It is a sixth objective of the present invention to provide a removable floor cover for the furniture piece to facilitate ease of cleaning animal waste.
It is a seventh objective of the present invention to provide a furniture piece with a living and storage.
It is an eighth objective of the present invention to provide removable a grill-type cover that serves as a guard to keep a smaller animal inside the furniture piece.
It is a ninth objective of the present invention to provide a multiple purpose animal furniture piece that can be used as a bed for an animal or a rest bench for humans.
It is a tenth objective of the present invention to provide a portable piece of animal furniture that can be made of various materials such as wood, plastic or metal.
The present invention provides a multi-purpose furniture piece and system that can be used for an animal throughout the life of the animal. For small animals such as puppies, this furniture system can be used as a dwelling in which the owner can train the animal to behave in a desired manner. The animal training could include animal potty training. Animal toys can also be stored in the animal living space as well. A removable barrier such as a grate or plastic ventilated sheet could cover a front opening to prevent undesirable movement of the animal in and out of the furniture piece. Animals can use a detachable ramp member to climb to the top of the furniture piece. For larger or older animals, the furniture piece can serve a bed or as a means to help the animal get into the bed of the owner. The furniture piece can form a bed for animals of all ages. The bed can be positioned adjacent an owner's bed.
The ramp member is also extendable. The owner can vary the length of the ramp such that the angle of inclination of the ramp against the animal furniture piece can vary. The ability vary the climbing angle sometimes be desirable to assist animals that have difficulty climbing a ramp positioned at a steeper angle. The extendable ramp structure can be of various designs and can comprise two or more sections. The sections are slidably attached to each other such that a lower section move relative to an upper section to vary the length of the ramp. The movement of the lower section can be in discrete intervals or can be designed to vary the ramp length to any desirable length.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The multiple function animal furniture piece of the present invention provides an animal owner with a system they can use for an animal throughout the life of the animal. The invention can serve as a training cage to help train small animals such as puppies for living indoors. A detachable mat on the floor of the furniture piece provides for ease in cleaning animal waste. A removable front cover such as a grill or grate can serve to restrict undesired movement of the animal in and out of the furniture piece. As an animal gets older and or bigger, the animal may no longer dwell inside the furniture. At this point, the furniture piece can have another function as a store structure. As will be discussed, the furniture system of this invention has an attachable ramp member for use by an animal to climb to the top of the furniture structure. This ramp is especially useful for smaller animals and older animals. The ramp can be stored inside the furniture structure when the ramp is not in use. This animal structure is portable and can be positioned adjacent the owner's bed. In this arrangement, the animal can easily move to the owner's bed. Further the owner can easily sit on the top of the structure. When an animal dies, the structure can be converted into a container (coffin) for burying the deceased animal.
As mentioned, the structure and system of the present invention provides the owner of an animal with the versatile means for providing care for the animal. This structure and system can accommodate activities for animals of all ages and sizes. The structure serves as both a dwelling for small animals as well as a training cage to teach certain behaviors. The internal storage capacity makes this structure useful for any animal that has toys. The ability to store the detachable components of the system within the structure itself makes this system easy to manage. The portability of the structure enables the owner to position it at any location. As mentioned, owners can use it as bed for the animal or as a means for the animal to climb into the owner's bed. The attachable ramp also makes it easy for animals of all ages and sizes to climb the ramp to the top side of the structure. At the animal's death, the structure can serve as a container coffin in which to bury the animal.
As mentioned, the configurations for attaching the multiple sections of the ramp can vary. Described herein are only examples of the various one can mechanically design an extendable ramp for use as described in the present invention. The invention described herein is not limited in scope to the example configurations described in this disclosure.
The present invention provides significant advantages over the current art. The invention has been described in connection with its preferred embodiments. However, it is not limited thereto. Changes, variations and modifications to the basic design may be made without departing from the inventive concepts in this invention. In addition, these changes, variations and modifications would be obvious to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the foregoing teachings. All such changes, variations and modifications are intended to be within the scope of this invention.
Claims
1. A multiple function animal furniture structure comprising:
- a structure having a top side, a bottom side, a back side and at least one side wall, said top side capable of supporting a sleeping material for an animal, said top side capable of being positioned in multiple angles with regard to said bottom side to allow for the opening and closing of the structure;
- a mat material positioned in the structure, said mat material covering substantially side bottom side;
- a front side connected to side top and bottom sides, said front side having an opening substantially covering said front side; and
- a lip element extending up from said front side and extending the length of said open side; and
- a detachable and extendable ramp member, said ramp member providing a surface on which an animal can climb to the topside of the structure.
2. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 1 wherein said ramp member further comprises an upper ramp section and a lower ramp section, the upper and lower ramp sections being slidably attached such that the lower section can linearly move in relation to the upper section.
3. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 2 wherein said upper and lower ramp sections are engaged in a translation, the translation area providing an area along the length of the upper section for which the lower section can move in relation to said upper section.
4. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 3 further comprising a support bracket attached to said upper section such that the bracket has a surface and extends below said upper section and forms a clearance below said upper bracket.
5. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 4 wherein said bracket engages said lower such that said lower section is slidably attached to said upper section.
6. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 5 wherein said bracket has recesses in the bracket surface to engage extrusions that extend from said lower section of the ramp.
7. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 2 wherein said upper section comprises an upper edge for engaging the top side of the furniture structure for attaching said ramp to the furniture structure.
8. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 7 further comprising a rack member attached to said back side, said rack member capable of securing and holding said ramp member when said ramp member is not in use.
9. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 7 further comprising a second rack member attached to said back side, said rack member capable of securing and holding said ramp member when said ramp member is not in use.
10. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 2 wherein said ramp member further comprises a fiber material attached to an up side of said ramp to provide friction when an animal is climbing said ramp.
11. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 10 wherein said ramp member has a lip member attached on a down side of the said ramp, said lip engaging the top side of the structure and thereby securing said ramp to said structure.
12. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 8 further comprising a latch member positioned in close proximity to said rack member for further securing the stored ramp.
13. A multiple function animal furniture system for caring for an animal throughout the life to the animal comprising:
- a structure for having an inner space for dwelling by an animal or for storing animal belongings;
- an attachable board member for enabling smaller animals to climb to the top of the structure;
- a cover member for covering a front opening in the structure; and
- a detachable and extendable ramp member, said ramp member providing a surface on which an animal can climb to the topside of the structure.
14. The multiple function animal furniture system as described in claim 13 wherein said ramp member further comprises an upper ramp section and a lower ramp section, the upper and lower ramp sections being slidably attached such that the lower section can linearly move in relation to the upper section.
15. The multiple function animal furniture system as described in claim 14 wherein said upper and lower ramp sections are engaged in a translation, the translation area providing an area along the length of the upper section for which the lower section can move in relation to said upper section.
16. The multiple function animal furniture system as described in claim 15 further comprising a support bracket attached to said upper section such that the bracket has a surface and extends below said upper section and forms a clearance below said upper bracket, said bracket engages said lower such that said lower section is slidably attached to said upper section.
17. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 1 wherein said structure is comprised of a rubber material.
18. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 1 wherein said structure is comprised of a wood material.
19. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 1 wherein said structure is comprised of a plastic material.
20. The multiple function animal furniture structure as described in claim 1 wherein said structure is comprised of a metal material.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 30, 2006
Publication Date: Nov 9, 2006
Inventor: Dan Dietz (Houston, TX)
Application Number: 11/344,655
International Classification: A01K 29/00 (20060101);