Animal rescue device

Abstract

Animal rescue device (4) for a water-collecting and / or storing container (1), wherein the animal rescue device (4) has a rescue surface (5) and a fastening device (6), wherein the rescue surface (5) has a length (7) extending from an open edge (3) of the container (1) to a bottom (8) of the container (1), wherein the rescue surface (5) has a free longitudinal end (10) and a clamped longitudinal end (9), wherein the rescue surface (5) is designed to float, and wherein the fastening device (6) is designed to allow the clamped longitudinal end (9) of the rescue surface (5) to be detachably fastened to the edge (3) of the container (1).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an animal rescue device for a water collecting and / or storing container, such as a rain barrel.

[0002] Containers for collecting and / or storing water, such as pools, paddling pools, and rain barrels, are seen by animals as a suitable source of water. However, such containers represent dangerous traps for the animals. Unfortunately, it is regularly heard of thirsty animals, such as cats or wild animals, going to pools, paddling pools, or rain barrels to drink, where they fall into the container containing the water. The steep and high walls of the container make it difficult for the animals to get out, so they are unable to save themselves and suffer an agonizing death by drowning. So-called pool covers are available for pools and paddling pools, but these generally cover the entire pool or pool.cover the entire paddling pool so that the animal cannot get to the water at all. The buoyancy of most pool covers is so low that such pool covers pose a danger to the animal if the animal steps on the pool cover. The animal could then sink into the pool cover and not be able to free itself, thus also posing a risk of drowning. Unlike pools and paddling pools, lids can be used on rain barrels. However, the use of a lid presupposes that the owner of the rain barrel must always ensure that the rain barrel is closed with a lid. If the user adds collected and stored water to the container orIf you want to collect water from a rain barrel using a bucket or watering can, you must first remove the lid, which makes handling difficult and carries the risk that the user will forget to replace the lid after use. Even a rain barrel that only has water at its bottom, so that the danger of drowning is eliminated due to the low water level, represents a trap for an animal, in which the animal is trapped and cannot escape on its own.

[0003] The invention is based on the object of creating a solution which provides an animal rescue device for a water collecting and / or storing container in a structurally simple manner and at low cost, which avoids the aforementioned disadvantages and which represents a safe and reliable aid so that animals can get out of the container independently.

[0004] This object is achieved according to the invention by an animal rescue device having the features according to claim 1.

[0005] The animal rescue device according to the invention for a water collecting and / or storing container has a rescue surface and a fastening device, wherein the rescue surface is designed with a length extending from an open edge of the container to a bottom of the container, wherein the rescue surface has a free longitudinal end and a clamped longitudinal end, wherein the rescue surface is designed to be floating, and wherein the fastening device is designed to detachably fasten the clamped longitudinal end of the rescue surface to the edge of the container.

[0006] Advantageous and expedient embodiments and further developments of the invention emerge from the corresponding subclaims.

[0007] The invention provides an animal rescue device characterized by a functional and cost-effective design, providing a safe and reliable means for animals to rescue themselves from containers with steep walls. The rescue surface is designed to float when the container is filled with water and is positioned at the water surface. Furthermore, it has sufficient buoyancy to support an animal at the water surface. When the container is not filled with water, the rescue surface extends to the bottom or close to the bottom, allowing the animal to cling to the rescue surface and climb out of the container.Because the rescue surface in the animal rescue device according to the invention has a free longitudinal end, when the invention is used with a rain barrel, the user can draw water from the rain barrel by pushing the rescue surface below the water surface and then filling a bucket or watering can with the water. After filling, the rescue surface floats back up and is located on the water surface. For the purposes of the invention, the extension to a bottom of the container means that the rescue surface extends either to the bottom or close to the bottom.Furthermore, "floating" means that the rescue area always extends along the water surface due to its buoyancy, so that the animal rescue device according to the invention always reliably provides a flat area on the water surface, regardless of the water level, on which the animal can find support within the container. For the purposes of the invention, an open edge is considered, for example, the peripheral edge of a rain barrel open on one side or the peripheral edge of a pool.

[0008] In an advantageous embodiment, the invention provides that the rescue area is formed, at least in sections, from a buoyant material. To ensure sufficient buoyancy, it is sufficient if sections of the rescue area are equipped with a correspondingly buoyant material.

[0009] Alternatively, it is also conceivable that the rescue aid could have buoyancy aids attached to the rescue surface to ensure sufficient buoyancy when the container is filled with water. Buoyancy aids could be hollow bodies made of plastic or cork, for example, which act like a buoy or float.

[0010] To facilitate the animal's climbing out of the container, the invention further provides for the rescue area to be designed with projections. The projections can be designed transversely in the manner of a ladder or step, so that the animal has a good grip on the ladder-, stair-, or step-like projections.

[0011] As an alternative to projections, the invention provides another embodiment for the rescue area to be designed as a net or grid. This design also provides animals with sufficient grip on the rescue area to move along it toward the longitudinal end, which is attached to the open edge of the container.

[0012] It is particularly advantageous in an embodiment of the invention if the rescue area is designed in several parts and is adjustable in length to the container. A multi-part rescue area allows the rescue area to be designed in such a way that its length can be adjusted to the height of the container. Individual partial rescue areas of a multi-part rescue area can have connecting edges, which enable a simple and detachable connection of one partial rescue area to another.

[0013] In order to fix the animal rescue device, the invention provides in a further embodiment that the fastening device has at least one fastening hook designed to engage under the edge of the container.

[0014] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, it is also conceivable that the fastening device has at least one clamp that clamps the edge of the container.

[0015] Finally, a further embodiment of the invention provides that the fastening device is detachably attached to one longitudinal end of the rescue surface. This allows for replacement of the fastening device and individual adaptation of the fastening device to a particular edge of a specific container.

[0016] It is understood that the features mentioned above and those yet to be explained below can be used not only in the respective combinations specified, but also in other combinations or alone, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined only by the claims.

[0017] Further details, features and advantages of the subject matter of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing, in which exemplary preferred embodiments of the invention are shown:

[0018] The drawing shows: Fig. 1 is a perspective front view of a water collecting and / or storing container to which an animal rescue device according to the invention is attached, Fig. 2 a perspective sectional view of the Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a side sectional view of the animal rescue device according to the invention attached to the water collecting and / or storing container, and Fig. 4 a side sectional view of another embodiment of an animal rescue device according to the invention, which is attached to the water collecting and / or storing container.

[0019] In the Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a container 1 in which water can be collected and / or stored. The container 1 is designed as a rain barrel and has an open end 2 with a rim 3. With the help of the container 1, for example, rainwater can be collected and stored. If necessary, during dry periods, the rainwater can be taken from the container 1 using a bucket or watering can and used to irrigate plants. Attached to the container 1 is an animal rescue device 4, which has a rescue surface 5 and a fastening device 6. As can be seen from the Fig. 1, the rescue area 5 of the animal rescue device 4 extends from the edge 3 of the open end 2 of the container 1 into the interior of the container 1.

[0020] A sectional view of the Fig. 1 is in the Fig. 2, wherein it can be seen that the container 1 is empty and contains no water. The rescue surface 5 has a predetermined length 7, through which the rescue surface 5 extends from the edge 3 of the open end 2 of the container 1 to the bottom 8 of the container 1 when the container 1 is empty and not filled with water. The rescue surface 5 is clamped and fastened to the edge 3 at one longitudinal end 9, whereas the other longitudinal end is designed as a free longitudinal end 10.

[0021] The free longitudinal end 10 of the floating rescue surface 5 allows the rescue surface 5 to float up and automatically arrange itself in sections on a water surface 11 when water 12 is in the container 1, as shown in the Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, where in Fig. 3 shows a first embodiment of the animal rescue device 4, whereas in Fig. 4 shows a further development of the animal rescue device 4. The fastening device 6 is designed to releasably fasten the clamped longitudinal end 9 of the rescue surface 5 to the edge 3 of the container 1, so that the free longitudinal end 10 can float, but the rescue surface 5 as a whole is fixed via the clamped longitudinal end 9.

[0022] At the Fig. 3, the rescue surface 5 is formed at least in sections from a buoyant material, so that the rescue surface 5 is formed from the Fig. 2 when water 12 is present in the container 1. Alternatively, buoyancy aids 14 can be attached to the rescue surface 5, as shown in Fig.4. Such buoyancy aids can be designed as hollow bodies made of plastic, although buoyancy aids 14 made of cork can also be considered so that the rescue surface 5 can float on the water surface 11.

[0023] To enable an animal trapped inside the container 1 to escape from the container 1, the rescue surface can be designed with projections, which is not shown in the figures. It is irrelevant for the animal's escape whether the container 1 is filled with water 12 or not. As an alternative to projections, the rescue surface 5 can be designed like a net or grid, so that the animal has sufficient grip on the rescue surface 5 to move toward the edge 3 of the container 1.

[0024] To ensure that the animal rescue device 4 can be adapted to a wide variety of containers 1, the rescue area 5 can be designed in multiple parts and its length 7 can be adapted to the container 1. The multi-part design of the rescue area 5 allows the rescue area to be designed in a length 7 that can be adapted to the height of the container 1. Individual partial rescue areas of a multi-part rescue area 5 can have connecting edges, which enable a simple and detachable connection of one partial rescue area to another.

[0025] The fastening device 6 is provided for attaching the rescue surface 5 to the container 1. In the exemplary embodiments shown in the figures, the fastening device 6 has at least one fastening hook 15 designed to engage behind or underneath the edge 3 of the container 1. Alternatively, the fastening device 6 can also have at least one clamp that clamps the edge 3 of the container 1. Furthermore, the fastening device 6 can be detachably attached to a longitudinal end 9 of the rescue surface 5, so that the fastening device 6 can be adapted to the type of edge 3 of the container 1.

[0026] The invention described above is, of course, not limited to the described and illustrated embodiments. It is clear that numerous modifications to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings may be made to the intended application, without departing from the scope of the invention. The invention encompasses everything contained in the description and / or illustrated in the drawings, including anything that deviates from the specific embodiments and is obvious to one skilled in the art. List of reference symbols 1 container 2 open end of 1 3 Edge 4 Animal rescue device 5 rescue area 6 Fastening device 7 Length 8 Floor 9 clamped longitudinal end of 5 10 free longitudinal end of 5 11 Water surface 12 Water 14 Buoyancy aid 15 fastening hooks

Claims

[1] Animal rescue device (4) for a water collecting and / or storing container (1), wherein the animal rescue device (4) has a rescue surface (5) and a fastening device (6), wherein the rescue surface (5) is designed with a length (7) extending from an open edge (3) of the container (1) to a bottom (8) of the container (1), wherein the rescue surface (5) has a free longitudinal end (10) and a clamped longitudinal end (9), wherein the rescue surface (5) is designed to be floating, and wherein the fastening device (6) is designed to detachably fasten the clamped longitudinal end (9) of the rescue surface (5) to the edge (3) of the container (1). [2] Animal rescue device (4) according to claim 1, wherein the rescue surface (5) is formed at least in sections from a buoyant material. [3] Animal rescue device (4) according to claim 1, wherein buoyancy aids (14) are attached to the rescue surface (5). [4] Animal rescue device (4) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the rescue surface (5) is formed with projections. [5] Animal rescue device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rescue surface (5) is designed in the form of a net or grid. [6] Animal rescue device (4) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the rescue surface (5) is designed in several parts and is adaptable in its length (7) to the container (1). [7] Animal rescue device (4) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the fastening device (6) has at least one fastening hook (15) designed to engage under the edge (3) of the container (1). [8] Animal rescue device (4) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the fastening device (6) has at least one clamp clamping the edge (3) of the container (1). [9] Animal rescue device (4) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the fastening device (6) is detachably attached to a longitudinal end (9) of the rescue surface (5).

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