Pet toy product with integral treats receiving receptacles

USRE39563E1Inactive Publication Date: 2007-04-17BOUNCE
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
US · United States
Current Assignee / Owner
Publication Date
2007-04-17
Estimated Expiration
Not applicable · inactive patent

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Abstract

A pet toy product for holding one or more animal treats has a body member having an outer surface with one or more recesses for removably holding one or more animal treats. The recesses may be of varying depth so that the treats in the deeper recesses are more difficult for the animal to extract then are the treats in the shallower recesses. The recesses may be circular, triangular, irregular, in the form of a groove or any other suitable configuration. The outer surface of the toy may be raised to accommodate the recesses or the recesses may extend into the surface. The pet toy may have recesses forming openings which extend through the pet toy product for receiving treats. With the structure recited, the pet owner can replenish the treats as often as necessary to maintain the pet's interest in the toy. Different treats can be provided with different nutritional values and tastes. Because some treats will be more difficult for the animal to remove than others, the animal can be kept occupied for several hours before the treats need to be replaced again. The treats may be held in the recesses by friction, adhesive or adhesion.
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Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This patent application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08 / 972,549, filed Nov. 18, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,947, 061, and entitled “Pet Toy Product With Integral Treat Receiving Receptacles” which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08 / 663,447, filed Jun. 13, 1996, now abandoned, and entitled “Pet Toy Product With Integral Treats Receiving Receptacles”.

[0002] This invention relates to a pet toy product, and more particularly to a pet toy product having recesses and openings for receiving treats.BACKGROUND ART

[0003] Chewable pet toys have been available for many years. Many are impregnated with odors or flavoring materials which are attractive to the animal for which the toy is intended. These toys can be made of various materials, such as rawhide, rubber and plastic. The shortcoming of these products is that after a period of time, the flavor and / or odor becomes less strong and the animal loses interest in the toy. No means is provided for subsequently ...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0026]In accordance with this invention, an animal, such as dog D, is shown in FIG. 1 playing with the pet toy product T of this invention. As best seen in FIG. 2, the pet toy product may have a variety of configurations, such as a ball T1, bone-shaped pet toy product T2, box-shaped pet toy product T3, elongated pet toy product T4, star-shaped pet toy product T5 and annular pet toy product T6. The recesses shown in these pet toy products can be of varying depths, as described below. These configurations are exemplary only and other configurations will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and such other shapes are intended to be included within the scope of this invention.

[0027]One embodiment of pet toy product T is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The pet toy product T includes a body member 10 with an outer surface 11 which generally defines the shape of the pet toy product T. Body member 10 has a depth defined by side wall 12 which includes a geometrically arranged plurality of ...