Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02508521 2005-06-O1
CANINE FECES REMOVAL DEVICE
This invention provides an improved manually operated tool used for the quick
and
clean removal, carrying and disposal of dog feces. It is designed so that a
dog can
carry it during outings and it also functions as a toy for the dog to retrieve
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Devices for the convenient removal, carrying and disposal of dog feces are
known of
but not widely used by urban dog owners. As far back as people have kept dogs
as
pets, it has been undesireable to see and smell (or step in) dog dung in any
place
public or private. Since the environmentally aware 1990's picking up after
your dog
does his business has become the socially accepted norm as a necessary duty of
the
dog owner and in some cased enforced by law. In cities, dog waste left in
public poses
health and aesthetic concerns to arise. As a result, collection of dog waste
is probably
the worst part of routine pet maintenance and can be an extremely undesirable
experience. Today, a common method of choice for removing said offensive
material is
to carry a thin plastic grocery store bag to the site and grab the excreta in
the palm of
one's hand. The bag being prearranged backwardsly over the hand so that one
may
grab the waste, then fold the bag back away from the hand and tie the bag. The
unpleasant task of collection being completed, the task of removal is achieved
by
carrying the bag containing the waste to an outdoor waste bin or to their home
garbage
i
CA 02508521 2005-06-O1
container. In some families, some members, often the younger ones, of the
household
will flat out refuse to pick up after the family dog if it means having to
handle the dung
basically in-hand with only a thin plastic bag between hand and waste. Since
the
1970's a few variations of this type of invention have come on the market in
attempts to
assist the dog owner in collection and removal of dog waste while minimizing
all
undesirable aspects of the experience including carrying. This type of
invention seeks
to eliminate the direct hand manipulation of the waste and puts the task at an
extended
distance so that the handling, visual and olfactory experiences are less
offensive.
Though such devices have been seen on the market very sparsely, they have not
achieved considerable popularity and have only achieved very sparse commercial
success so far. This represents a continuing need for design improvement.
Some devices of this type are listed below in the following Canadian patents:
2198627 DOG FAECES COLLECTOR
2475587 DOG LEASH PROVIDED WITH A RIGID HANDLE INCLUDING MEANS FOR
COLLECTING AND DISPOSING OF THE ANIMAL EXCREMENTS
2475587 DOG LEASH PROVIDED WITH A RIGID HANDLE INCLUDING MEANS FOR
COLLECTING AND DISPOSING OF THE ANIMAL EXCREMENTS
2320038 IMPLEMENT AND METHOD FOR PICKING UP AND REMOVING PET
EXCREMENT
1168676 ANIMAL EXCREMENT PICKER
1139802 "SANI-SCOOP" TOOL
2253188 DOG EXCREMENT COLLECTOR
1306275 ANIMAL EXCREMENT COLLECTOR
2378895 COLLECTOR AND BAG FOR MANAGING PET EXCREMENT
2292551 COLLECTION DEVICE FOR SCOOPING REFUSE FOR DISPOSAL
CA 02508521 2005-06-O1
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the drawings, which are referred to in this specification,
Fig. 1 is a diagramic view of a canine feces removal device according to one
embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2a through 2c are diagramic views illustrating how a bag is loaded and
clamped
onto the device;
Fig. 3a through 3c are diagramic views illustrating how the device is used to
collect,
carry and dispose of dog waste.
Fig. 4 is a photograph showing the device constructed view included to
illustrate
device's switchable locking bag clamp mechanism
Considered broadly, this invention is best summarized by describing it's parts
and their
funtions as follows: Before an outing with a dog, one switches the bag clamp
(Fig.2a
#1 ) to Off position by pulling back on the Off thumbswitch (Fig.2a #2). This
allows
almost any disposable plastic bag to be loaded around the bag sleeve (Fig.1 #1
) by
putting hand inside bag, putting hand within the bag through front of bag
sleeve (Fig.2a
#3), then folding back the top of bag over the front of the bag sleeve
(Fig.2b). Next,
one switches the bag clamp to the On position by depressing the On thumbswitch
(Fig.2a #4), thereby locking the bag to the device as shown in Fig.2c. The bag
is then
compacted and hid away by tucking it within the bag sleeve while carrying to
the site
where the dog will relieve itself. At this point, the dog may carry the device
by holding
the bit area which is a durable rubber part of the handle (Fig.1 #2) of the
device in its
teeth or by temporarily affixing the device to the dog's harness using the
adhesive
feature located along the back of the handle (Fig.1 #3). Once the dog has
relieved
itself, the bottom of the bag sleeve device is placed on the ground next to
waste (Fig.3a
and whisked forward briskly while pressing down lightly so that the waste is
shuffled
inside the bag in one quick motion (Fig.3b). One can then hold the handle and
make a
short flicking movement to swing the bag over and around the bag sleeve for
compact
odour-free carrying to the outdoor garbage container. One then either hands
the
device back to the dog's mouth or re-affixes it to the harness or carries it
himself by the
handle. At the outdoor garbage container, one holds the device by the handle,
3
CA 02508521 2005-06-O1
switches the bag clamp to Off position and drops the bag loose over garbage
container
with a gentle up an down jerking motion so that the weight of the feces in the
bag pulls
the bag down and away from the device (Fig.3c). Then the device can be carried
for
the rest of the outing in the optional ways already mentioned.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the advantageous embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, the
device is
made up of a hollow, rigid, lightweight handle (Fig.1 #4), with a hand-grip
area at one
end (Fig.1 #5). At the opposite end the handle is attached to a rigid bag
holder being a
rigid flat hollow square shaped sleeve rounded corners (Fig.1 #1 ). The sleeve
is
attached by a recessed member affording bag travel under the handle for
loading and
clamping a plastic bag in place (Fig. 2a #5). The bottom of the bag holding
sleeve has
the ancillary function of being a scoop to fill a bag with dog dung (Fig.1
#6). Toward
the scoop end of the handle is a hidden, built-in spring loaded bag clamping
mechanism to hold a plastic bag in place during use (Fig.1 #7). The bag
clamping
mechanism (Fig.4 #1 ) positioned lengthwise inside the handle and is comprised
of a
shaft with 2 teeth at one end. The shaft is surrounded by a coiled spring. The
spring
being stopped by a ring retainer attached to the handle at the end opposite
the bag
sleeve, and stopped by a retainer ring at the teeth end of the shaft so that,
when the
bag clamp is engaged, the expansion of the spring causes the shaft to move
toward the
bag sleeve where said teeth press down firmly pinching a plastic bag in place
against
the top of the bag sleeve. Toward the hand-grip end of the handle there is an
On
button (Fig.1 #8) and an Off button (Fig.1 #9) which both govern the bag
clamping
mechanism to engage and disengage its action. Midway along the handle is a bit
area
of molded firm rubber so that a dog can comfortably carry the device in its
teeth (Fig.1
#2). Also midway along the handle located on the back of the handle
lengthwise, for
the length of the bit area is an adhesive material so that the device can be
temporarily
affixed to a dog's harness for carrying and storage (Fig.1 #3). At the hand-
grip end of
the handle is a wrist strap made of durable, flexible material such as leather
or woven
nylon.
4
CA 02508521 2005-06-O1
!t should be noted that obvious changes and modifications can be made to the
design
of the invention without departing from the scope of the unique intentions
devised and
set out as embodiments of the invention as listed below in the claims.
