RU2533896C1 - Coating of pet animal toilet tray - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: personal use articles.

SUBSTANCE: coating of pet animal toilet tray contains a base designed in the form of a flexible film sheet. Positioned on the base are multiple detachable flexible film layers, in the central part whereof multiple through holes are made. The holes are arranged chequerwise. Positioned on the open surface of the detachable sheet most remote from the base are multiple fixing plates made of flexible tape. Each fixing plate is connected to the base via matched through holes. Each fixing plate is connected immediately to the base by means of spot welding with welding spots formation. The ratio of the diameter of each matched hole to that of a welding spot is 1:0.25÷0.75. The ration of the fixing plate thickness to the welding spot diameter is 1:1.8÷5.5. The ratio of the thickness of the base to that of the fixing plate is 1:2.3÷2.5. The ratio of the fixing plate thickness to the maximum total thickness of all the detachable sheets is 1:1.8.

EFFECT: ensuring protection against liquid leakage from the top detachable layer to the underlying layers and the base as well as the said coating manufacture process simplification.

7 cl, 8 dwg

Description

Application area

The claimed invention relates to devices for collecting excrement and urine of domestic animals.

State of the art

From the published German patent (publication DE 102011005891 A1, IPC A01K 23/00, published September 27, 2012), a multilayer protective coating for a cat’s toilet is known.

In the second embodiment, said coating comprises a base made in the form of a sheet of flexible film on which a plurality of removable sheets of flexible film are located, and on the central part of the open surface of the most remote from the base of the removable sheet, a plurality of fixing plates are arranged staggered, each fixing the plate is connected to each removable sheet and to the base by spot welding, and perforated circles are made on each removable sheet around the welding point.

The disadvantages of this coating is that when removing the top sheet from the coating, with an uneven application of force, a rupture of this sheet, and in some cases subsequent sheets, occurs. In addition, around the spot welding zone, there is a decrease in the thickness of the base and removable sheets, which in some cases leads to a violation of the integrity of the base and removable sheets when removing the top sheets from the coating. When welding a large number of sheets (over seven), the welding point becomes brittle, and when exposed to external shock loads, for example, when an animal paws it, cracking occurs at the welding point.

All of the above drawbacks can lead to spilling of the contents of the coating in the form of granules of a filler for a cat’s toilet, which have absorbed liquid (for example, urine) and excrement on the lower sheets and on the bottom of the tray, as well as on the specified lower sheets, base and bottom of the tray with liquid top sheet, after which the entire coating becomes unsuitable for further operation.

All these disadvantages are eliminated in the first embodiment of the specified coating, selected as the closest analogue.

The specified coating of the first embodiment contains a base made in the form of a sheet of flexible film, on which there are many removable sheets of flexible film, in the central part of which there are many aligned through holes located in a checkerboard pattern, and on the open surface of the most remote from the base of the removable sheet there are many fixing plates made of a flexible film, each of which is connected to the base through a joint through a connecting insert holes, while the height of the specified insert is equal to the sum of the thicknesses of all removable sheets, and the combined through holes are made in increments equal to the diameter of one fixing plate.

This design of a multi-layer protective coating for a cat’s toilet makes it easy to remove removable sheets with contents, however, after removing the upper removable sheet, a gap forms between the next removable sheet and the fixing plates, through which the liquid, which does not have time to absorb into the granules of the cat’s toilet filler, drains through the combined holes on the bottom removable sheets and the base.

In addition, the welding of connecting inserts with a base and fixing plates is a complex process in which a high percentage of rejects is possible.

Thus, the main disadvantages of the closest analogue is that in the multilayer protective coating for the cat’s toilet there is no protection against leakage of liquid from the upper removable sheet to the lower sheets and to the base, as well as the complexity of the manufacturing process of this coating.

Disclosure of invention

The technical result that can be obtained in the claimed invention is the creation of a cover for the toilet litter box for pets, which provides protection against leakage of liquid from the upper removable sheet to the lower sheets and the base, as well as simplifying the manufacturing process of this coating.

The technical result is achieved in that in the coating of the tray of the toilet for pets, containing a base made in the form of a sheet of flexible film, on which there are many removable sheets of flexible film, in the central part of which there are many combined through holes arranged in a checkerboard pattern, and on the open surface of the removable sheet farthest from the base there are many fixing plates made of a flexible film, each of which is connected to the base through a joint through holes, each fixing plate is connected directly to the base by spot welding, with the formation of a welding point, and the diameter of each specified hole refers to the diameter of the welding point as 1 to 0.25 ÷ 0.75, while the thickness of the fixing plate refers to the diameter of the point welding as 1 to 1.8 ÷ 5.5, and the thickness of the base refers to the thickness of the fixing plate as 1 to 2.3 ÷ 2.5, while the thickness of the fixing plate refers to the maximum total thickness of all removable sheets as 1 to 1.8 .

In addition, the fixing plates are square in shape and are located on the open surface of the most remote from the base of the removable sheet end-to-end to form a liquid-impermeable layer in the central part of the removable sheets.

In addition, the fixing plates are round in shape and are located on the open surface of the overlap that is farthest from the base of the removable sheet with a complete overlap of its (sheet) central part, in which there are many through holes, to form a liquid-tight layer in the central part of the removable sheets.

In addition, the fixing plates have a circular shape and are located on the open surface of the removable sheet farthest from the base with a step equal to the diameter of one fixing plate, which is preferable for the larger film thickness of which the fixing plates are made.

Moreover, the base, removable sheets and fixing plates are made of polyethylene film or polytetrafluoroethylene film, since these films have high flexibility.

To connect the claimed coating with the bottom of the tray, an adhesive layer is applied on the surface of the base opposite to the surface to which the fixing plates are connected, which makes it possible to reliably fix the claimed coating in the tray and evenly apply force to the removable removable sheet.

Description of drawings

The claimed cover of the tray of the toilet for pets is illustrated using the drawings shown in figures 1-8.

In Fig.1 - section of the tray of the toilet for pets in section;

figure 2 shows a removable sheet;

figure 3 shows a top view of the cover of the tray of the toilet for pets with square locking plates;

figure 4 shows a top view of the cover of the tray of the toilet for pets with round locking plates located with a complete overlap of the Central part of the removable sheet;

figure 5 shows a top view of the cover of the tray of the toilet for pets with round locking plates;

Fig.6-8 shows the process of removing the removable sheet from the claimed coating.

The implementation of the invention

The claimed coating of the tray of the toilet for pets contains a base 1 on which there are many removable sheets 2, in the central part of which there are many aligned through holes 3 arranged in a checkerboard pattern. On the open surface 4 of the most remote from the base of the removable sheet there are many fixing plates 5, fixing the position of the removable sheets 2. Each fixing plate 5 is connected directly to the base 2 by spot welding, with the formation of the welding point 6. To connect the claimed coating with the bottom of the tray on the surface the base 1, opposite the surface to which the fixing plates 5 are connected, an adhesive layer 7 can be applied. This layer 7 connects the base 1 to the bottom of the tray and allows amb removable sheets 2 without holding arms base 1.

Base 1, removable sheets 2 and fixing plates 5 are made of flexible polyethylene or polytetrafluoroethylene film. Films from these materials have the necessary flexibility even with large thicknesses reaching 5 mm, and are the cheapest and most well-processed in production. What is especially important for the cutting operation, through which the through holes 3 and the fixing plates 5 are cut. In addition, these materials lend themselves well to welding.

The through holes 3 in the removable sheets 2 are made in their (removable sheets 2) central parts in a checkerboard pattern in accordance with the location of the fixing plates 5. It is preferable that the diameters D1 of the through holes 3 are not equal, but changed from smaller diameters on the periphery of the central part of the removable sheet 2 to large diameters in the center of the central part of the removable sheet 2. This is due to the fact that such sheets 2 are better held by the fixing plates 5 under random loads aimed at removing these sheets 2. However, of the group of holes 3 requires sophisticated equipment, which is why the toilet tray cover the cost for pets is increasing almost tenfold.

The implementation of the aforementioned holes 3 with the same diameters D1 is the simplest and does not require additional production costs.

To determine the optimal sizes and their ratios that satisfy the claimed technical result, samples of the coating of the toilet litter box for pets with various thicknesses of the base 1, removable sheets 2 and fixing plates 5, and also with different diameters D1 of through holes 3 and diameters D2 of points 6 were made welding. At the same time, the fixing plates 5 were made of both round and square shapes with various sizes.

In the process of assembling the cover of the tray of the toilet for pets, the following was revealed.

With the ratio of the diameter D1 of the through hole 3 to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 as 1 to less than 0.25, the fixing plate 5 is unsatisfactorily pressed against the open surface of the removable sheet 2 farthest from the base 1, namely, between the edge of the through hole 3 and the fixing plate 5 all the samples showed a gap extending in some cases to the entire perimeter of the through hole 3. Moreover, the presence of the gap does not depend on the thickness of the fixing plate 5.

With the ratio of the diameter D1 of the through hole 3 to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 as 1 to more than 0.75, it was difficult to install the removable sheets 2 on the base 1. It was almost impossible to pass the fixing plate 5 welded to the base 1 through the combined through holes 3 . Only with small thicknesses of the fixing plate 5 of 0.3 mm or less, was it possible to pass the fixing plate 5 through the aligned through holes 3, but the free edges of the fixing plate 5 rose vertically upward and did not press the removable sheets 2 to each other. When welding the fixing plate 5 with the base 1 through the through holes 3 with the indicated ratio of the indicated diameters D1 and D2, the fixing plate 5 firmly held the removable sheets so that it was not possible to remove these sheets 2 without violating their integrity in the region of the through holes 2.

With the ratio of the diameter D1 of the through hole 3 to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 as 1 to 0.25 ÷ 0.75, the fixing plate 5, the thickness h3 of which relates to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 as 1 to more than 1.8, is pressed against the edge of the through holes 2 without the formation of a gap. The fixing plate 5, the thickness of which h3 refers to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 as 1 to less than 5.5, welded to the base 1, can be passed through the through hole 2, and you can also remove the removable sheets from the base 1 without them (sheets 2) damage. In this case, with a thickness h3 of the fixing plate 5 related to the diameter D2 of the weld point 6 as 1 to less than 1.8, the gap between the edges of the through hole 3 and the fixing plate 5 can be visually identified. And with a thickness h3 of the fixing plate 5, related to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 as 1 to more than 5.5, the removable sheets 2 when removed from the base 1 were torn in the area of the through holes 2.

Thus, the ratio of the diameter D1 of the through hole 3 to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 is 1 to 0.25 ÷ 0.75, with the ratio of the thickness h3 of the fixing plate 5 to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 as 1 to 1.8 ÷ 5.5, Satisfies the claimed technical result.

However, upon reaching a tight fit of the fixing plate 5 to the edge of the through hole 2, which (fit) allows to remove said sheets 2 from the base without difficulties and damage to the removable sheets 2, other defects were identified that impeded the achievement of the claimed technical result. Namely:

- at small thicknesses h1 of the base 1, it (base 1) was burned during welding so that around the point 6 of the welding damage was observed in the form of through holes up to 2 mm in size;

- for large thicknesses h1 of the base 1, the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 exceeded the required, higher value (here, by the above value means the ratio of the thickness h3 of the fixing plate 5 to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 and the ratio of the diameter D1 of the through hole 3 to the diameter D2 welding points 6);

- with a large maximum total thickness h2 of the removable sheets 2, laid on the base 1 and fixed by the fixing plates 5, the welding point 6 detached from the base 1.

To eliminate these drawbacks, which lead to leakage of liquid from the upper removable sheet 2 to the lower removable sheets 2, the base 1 and the bottom of the tray, new samples of the coating of the toilet litter box for pets were made taking into account the above size ratios, but with different thicknesses h1 of the base 1, different maximum total thicknesses h2 of all removable sheets 2 and various thicknesses h3 of the fixing plates 5.

As a result of the manufacture of the cover of the tray of the toilet for pets, the following was revealed.

The base 1 is burned during welding at a ratio of the thickness h1 of the base 1 to the thickness h3 of the fixing plate 5 as 1 to less than 2.3.

The diameter D2 of the weld point 6 exceeded the necessary, predetermined value when the ratio of the thickness h1 of the base 1 to the thickness h3 of the fixing plate 5 as 1 to more than 2.5.

Thus, it was found that the thickness h1 of the base 1 should relate to the thickness h3 of the fixing plate 5 as 1 to 2.3 ÷ 2.5.

The separation of the welding point 6 from the base 1 is associated with the flexibility of the fixing plate 5. The thinner the fixing plate 5, the more flexible it becomes. However, it is important to observe the above ratio of the thickness h3 of the fixing plate 5 to the diameter D2 of the welding point 6 as 1 to 1.8 ÷ 5.5. In this regard, it was determined that the thickness h1 of the fixing plate 5 should relate to the maximum total thickness h2 of all removable sheets 2 as 1 to 1.8.

In the simplest embodiment, the fixing plates 5 are round in shape and are located on the open surface 4 of the removable sheet 2 farthest from the base 1 with a step equal to the diameter of one fixing plate 5, as shown in FIG. But with this design, the cover of the tray of the toilet for pets should be laid on the flat bottom of the tray, not having spherically protruding sections or spherical recesses, the radius of which exceeds the thickness of the specified coating more than five times. In addition, the cover of the pet toilet tray should be laid on the bottom of the tray without jamming the base 1.

To increase the reliability of protection against fluid leakage from the upper removable sheet 2 to the lower removable sheets 2 and to the base 1, an additional protective layer was created, which form the fixing plates 5, which also simplifies the manufacturing process of the claimed coating.

For the formation of the specified additional protective layer, the locking plate 5 is made square in shape and located on the open surface 4 of the outermost from the base 1 of the removable sheet 2 butt to each other, as shown in Fig.3. The square shape of these plates 5 allows them to be made (plates 5) using a simple sheet cutting operation made of a polyethylene or polytetrafluoroethylene film.

With the gradual removal of the removable sheets 2 from the base 1 (for example, when removing one removable sheet 2 per day), the maximum total thickness h2 of the removable sheets 2 laid on the base 1 and fixed by the fixing plates 5 decreases. The edges of the locking plates 5 are lowered and the locking plates 5 are overlapped. Through the additional layer formed in this way, even if the fixing plates 5 are end-to-end to each other, the liquid can no longer penetrate even the open surface 4 of the removable sheet 2, which is farthest from the base 1.

In another embodiment of the claimed coating for the formation of the specified additional protective layer, the fixing plates 5 are round in shape and are located on the open surface 4 of the outermost removable sheet 2 lapped 2 with a complete overlap of its (removable sheet 2) central part, in which a plurality of through holes 3, as shown in Fig.4. The manufacture of round fixing plates 5 requires the manufacture of special equipment for cutting round blanks from a whole sheet of polyethylene or polytetrafluoroethylene film, but this equipment quickly pays for itself in mass production of the claimed coating. The advantage of the round fixing plates 5 over the square fixing plates 5 is that with a gradual decrease in the maximum total thickness h2 of the removable sheets 2 associated with the removal of the removable sheets 2 from the base 1, the edges of the fixing plates 5 are not only lowered, but adjacent edges of the fixing plates 5 come together. Moreover, these adjacent edges can abut against each other. In the case of locking plates 5 of a square shape, such an abutment of the edges against one another can cause tearing and jamming, causing a gap between adjacent fixing plates 5. For locking plates 5 of a circular shape, when the edges stop against each other, as a rule, the edge of one fixing plate 5 is curved the edge of the other fixing plate 5 slides and rests on the open surface 4 of the outermost removable sheet 2 or on the surface of the adjacent fixing plate 5.

The claimed cover of the tray of the toilet for pets works as follows.

The base 1 of the cover of the tray of the toilet for pets through the adhesive layer 7 is connected to the bottom 8 of the tray so that the locking plate 5 is turned from the bottom of the 8 tray up. Granules 9 of the toilet filler are poured onto the open surface 4 of the removable sheet 2 farthest from the base and on the upper surface of the fixing plates 5. After that, the pet is allowed into the tray to empty the intestines and bladder. At the same time, granules 9 of the toilet filler absorb animal urine and the liquid component of excrement. In this case, part of the urine, as a rule, manages to seep between the granules 9 of the toilet filler and get on the open surface 4 of the removable sheet 2 farthest from the base 1 and on the outer surface of the fixing plates 5, if the fixing plates do not form an additional protective layer, or only on the outer the surface of the locking plates 5, if the locking plates form an additional protective layer. Over time, the toilet filler granules 9 swelling from the animal’s urine will absorb urine that has fallen either on the open surface 4 of the removable sheet 2 farthest from the base 1 or on the outer surface of the fixing plates 5. But at the initial moment of leakage, there is a chance of urine to leak onto the lower removable sheets 2 and on the basis of 1, which (possibility) is eliminated in the claimed coating of the tray of the toilet for pets.

After a certain time, for example, one day, the removable sheet 2 farthest from the base 1 is taken by the edges with his hands and pulled upward, as shown in Fig.6. The edges of the fixing plates 5 rise up, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the direction of pulling of the removable sheet 2, shown by arrows P, and pass through the through holes 3 made in the removable sheet 2. Thus, the removable sheet 2 is released from fixing by the fixing plates 5.

The edges of the fixing plates 5, passed through the through holes 3, again lie on the open surface of the next removable sheet 2 as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The granules 9 of the toilet filler, which did not absorb urine and, therefore, did not increase in size pass through the through holes 3 and fall either onto the open surface of the next removable sheet 2 farthest from the base 1, or onto the outer surface of the fixing plates 5. This can significantly save granules 9 of the toilet filler. Then, new granules 9 of the toilet filler are poured onto the cover of the pet toilet tray to fill the tray to the required level, and the pet toilet is ready for use again.

Thus, due to the fact that each fixing plate is connected directly to the base by spot welding to form a welding point, the manufacturing process of the claimed coating is simplified, and also because each fixing plate is connected directly to the base by spot welding to form a welding point, and the diameter of each specified hole refers to the diameter of the weld point as 1 to 0.25 ÷ 0.75, while the thickness of the fixing plate refers to the diameter of the weld point as 1 to 1.8 ÷ 5.5, and the thickness base refers to the thickness of the fixing plate as 1 to 2.3 ÷ 2.5, while the thickness of the fixing plate refers to the maximum total thickness of all removable sheets as 1 to 1.8, protection against leakage of liquid from the tray of the toilet for pets is provided with top removable sheet to the bottom sheets and to the base.

And due to the fact that the fixing plates are square in shape and are located on the open surface of the most remote from the base of the removable sheet end to end to each other, or due to the fact that the fixing plates are round in shape and located on the open surface of the most remote from the base of the removable sheet overlap with full overlapping of it (the sheet) of the central part, in which a plurality of through holes are made, the degree of protection against leakage of liquid from the upper removable sheet to the lower sheets and to the base is increased.

Claims (7)

1. Covering the tray of the toilet for pets, containing a base made in the form of a sheet of flexible film, on which there are many removable sheets of flexible film, in the central part of which there are many aligned through holes arranged in a checkerboard pattern, and on the open surface the most remote from the base of the removable sheet there are many locking plates made of a flexible film, each of which is connected to the base through combined through holes, characterized in that then each fixing plate is connected directly to the base by spot welding to form a welding point, and
the diameter of each specified hole refers to the diameter of the weld point as 1 to 0.25 ÷ 0.75, while
the thickness of the fixing plate refers to the diameter of the weld point as 1 to 1.8 ÷ 5.5, and
the thickness of the base refers to the thickness of the fixing plate as 1 to 2.3 ÷ 2.5, while
the thickness of the fixing plate refers to the maximum total thickness of all removable sheets as 1 to 1.8. 2. The coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing plates are square in shape and are located on the open surface of the most remote from the base of the removable sheet end-to-end to each other. 3. The coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing plates are round in shape and are located on the open surface of the lap sheet that is farthest from the base of the removable sheet with a complete overlap of its (sheet) central part, in which many through holes are made. 4. The coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing plates are round in shape and are located on the open surface of the removable sheet farthest from the base with a step equal to the diameter of one fixing plate. 5. The coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the base, removable sheets and fixing plates are made of plastic film. 6. The coating according to claim 1, characterized in that the base, removable sheets and fixing plates are made of polytetrafluoroethylene film. 7. The coating according to claim 1, characterized in that on the surface of the base opposite to that surface to which the fixing plates are connected, an adhesive layer is applied.

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