Pet toy

Abstract

To provide a pet toy which makes the hunting instinct of a pet aware by an escape behavior of the pet toy having pet contact (e.g., biting) as motive power and which can thereby resolve lack of exercise and stress of the pet.SOLUTION: A pet toy includes a frame 10 and wheels 3 that supports the frame and is rotatably journaled by the frame. The frame is projectingly provided in a direction parallel with an advancing direction of the wheels by a tapered projected line 12 that is insertable into the mouth of the pet. The surface of the projected line is formed of a slide surface sliding for the pet teeth. With the projected line bitten by the pet, the pet teeth slide on the slide surface and the projected line is discharged out of the pet mouth. By discharging the projected line outside of the mouth of a dog, it is converted into pressurization to the frame, with the pet toy 1 is actuated from the dog (escape behavior). The pet is awakened by a hunting instinct to chase and track the pet toy (tracking behavior), and again bites the projected line.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to pet toys. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, many households have various pets, such as dogs, kept indoors. However, dogs kept in homes with elderly people in particular have a problem that they cannot go for walks enough due to the weakening of the legs and hips caused by the aging of the owner, and are prone to various diseases due to obesity and stress caused by lack of exercise. Therefore, various pet toys have been proposed to allow pets such as dogs to play and exercise.

[0003] One example of a pet toy is a pet toy that contains an object inside a container, at least a part of which is breathable, and the object contains the scent of the owner (Patent Document 1). By containing the object containing the owner's scent, which gives the dog both joy and a sense of security, inside a container that is at least partially breathable, the dog feels both joy and a sense of security when it smells the container, and can play with it for a long period of time without losing interest.

[0004] Also, a pet toy is known in which a rotating shaft is disposed within a support base, a drive unit that operates by winding a spring is provided, the base of a flexible wire is connected to the upper end of the rotating shaft, and the flexible wire protrudes upward from the upper part of the support base, the bottom surface of the support base is formed in a spherical shape so that the support base can rotate in the opposite direction and can sway downward as the temptress rotates around the rotating shaft, and the center of gravity of the support base is set at the bottom so that it can stand up even if it sways downward (Patent Document 2). The support base moves with the rotation of the rotating shaft, and the movement of the temptress is made complex, so that pets such as cats can be teased sufficiently without getting bored quickly. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-221030 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2017-85942 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the pet toy described in Patent Document 1 is not a moving pet toy itself, so it is difficult to keep a pet's interest for a long time. What is needed to keep a pet's interest for a long time is a pet toy that reproduces the escape-and-catch behavior that occurs daily in the natural world, such as an escaping prey and an animal hunting it, and awakens the pet's hunting instinct.

[0007] On the other hand, in the toy described in Patent Document 2, the pet toy itself is operated by a clockwork mechanism, and the pet toy itself can reproduce the escaped prey. However, since the owner must wind the clockwork, the pet cannot play with it voluntarily.

[0008] The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and aims to provide a pet toy that can arouse the hunting instinct of the pet by the escape action of the pet toy powered by contact (e.g. biting) of the pet, thereby relieving the lack of exercise and stress of the pet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the pet toy of the present invention comprises a frame and wheels rotatably supported on the frame, the frame is formed with a tapered convex portion which can be inserted into a pet's mouth, the surface of the convex portion is formed with a sliding surface which slides against the pet's teeth, and when the pet bites the convex portion, the pet's teeth slide along the sliding surface, causing the convex portion to be expelled from the pet's mouth (Claim 1).

[0010] With this configuration, a pet can play with the pet toy according to the present invention in the following manner.

[0011] (A) The pet bites the protruding part of the frame (biting behavior).

[0012] (B) When a pet bites the protruding portion of the frame, the shape of the protruding portion is tapered and the surface of the protruding portion is a sliding surface that slides against the pet's teeth, so that the protruding portion is expelled from the pet's mouth as the pet's teeth slide along the sliding surface. As a result, the force of the pet biting the protruding portion is converted into a pushing force against the frame. The pet toy is equipped with wheels, and moves by the pushing force against the frame. In other words, the biting behavior is used as a trigger for the pet toy to move away from the pet (escape behavior).

[0013] (C) The pet's biting behavior triggers the pet toy's escape behavior, which awakens its hunting instinct, and the pet chases the pet toy and catches up with it (chasing behavior), then bites the convex part of the frame again (return to (A)).

[0014] The behavior of (A) → (B) → (C) → (A) ... reproduces the escape-and-catch behavior that occurs daily in the natural world, such as escaped prey and animals hunting it, and can keep your pet's interest for a long time. Therefore, your pet can repeat the behavior of (A) → (B) → (C) → (A) ... without getting bored, which can relieve your pet's lack of exercise and stress.

[0015] The vehicle may also include an axle rotatably supported by the frame via bearings, and the wheels may be fixed to both ends of the axle (claim 2).

[0016] With this configuration, it is possible to reduce energy loss caused by friction between the frame and the shaft, and therefore to increase the momentum and distance of the escape behavior of the pet toy. Effect of the Invention

[0017] The pet toy of the present invention is configured as described above, and the escape behavior of the pet toy, powered by contact (e.g. biting) by the pet, awakens the pet's hunting instinct, thereby relieving the pet's lack of exercise and stress. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a pet toy according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing a frame that constitutes a pet toy, and FIG. 2B is a view of the frame as seen from the left. [Diagram 3] 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a dog bites a protrusion of a frame. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] The pet toy 1 according to the present invention will now be described.

[0020] (Pet Toy 1 Description) The pet toy 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the pet toy. Fig. 3 shows the pet toy 1 as seen from the left. The pet toy 1 can arouse the hunting instinct of the dog by the escape action of the pet toy powered by contact (e.g., biting) of the pet (e.g., dog), and can relieve the dog from lack of exercise and stress. The pet toy 1 mainly includes a frame 10, an axle 2 rotatably supported by the frame 10, and a pair of wheels 3 fixed to both ends of the axle 2. Regarding the directions for explaining the pet toy 1, as shown in Fig. 1, the direction of the axle 2 is defined as the left-right direction, and the direction perpendicular to the axle 2 is defined as the front-rear direction.

[0021] The frame 10 will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Figs. 1 and 2(a) show perspective views of the frame 10. Fig. 2(b) shows a view of the frame 10 from the left. The frame 10 is a hollow member formed by bonding a plurality of resin materials, such as polycarbonate resin materials. The frame 10 mainly comprises a frame main body 11, which is a cylinder having surfaces arranged in the left-right direction, and a pair of protruding strips 12 protruding from the outer side of the frame main body 11 in the front-rear direction over the entire length.

[0022] The frame body 11 is a cylindrical body with surfaces arranged in the left-right direction, and the outer periphery in the overall length direction of the frame body 11 is formed with a curve of a size that the target dog cannot bite. The frame body 11 is formed with circular holes 13 penetrating the center of the circular surfaces on the left and right. The shaft 2 described later is inserted into the holes 13.

[0023] The protruding strip 12 is provided over the entire length from the outer side in the front-rear direction of the frame body 11, and when observed from the left-right direction, it has a tapered shape tapering toward the tip, and in this embodiment, it is bullet-shaped. The thickness of the protruding strip 12 is formed to a thickness that allows the target dog to bite, in other words, a thickness that allows it to be inserted into the dog's mouth. As described above, the frame 10 is a hollow member formed by bonding multiple resin materials, such as polycarbonate resin materials. By adopting polycarbonate resin, the surface of the protruding strip 12 becomes a sliding surface on which the dog's teeth slide when the dog bites. The protruding strip 12 has a tapered shape tapering toward the tip, and a sliding surface on which the dog's teeth slide when the dog bites is arranged, so that when the dog bites the protruding strip 12, the dog's teeth slide on the sliding surface, and the protruding strip 12 is expelled from the dog's mouth.

[0024] FIG. 1 shows an axle 2, wheels 3, and bearings 7. The axle 2 is made of a round aluminum bar. The wheels 3 are made of rubber and are spherical in shape so that the target dog cannot bite them. A bearing 7 is disposed near the center of the hole 13 in the left-right direction of the frame body 11. The bearing 7 is a radial ball bearing having an inner ring, an outer ring, and a ball. The axle 2 is rotatably supported by the frame 10 via the bearing 7. This configuration can reduce energy loss caused by friction between the frame 10 and the axle 2, so that the momentum of the escape behavior and the distance traveled by the pet toy 1 can be increased.

[0025] The assembly of the pet toy 1 using the above-mentioned parts will now be described. The user inserts one end of the shaft 2 into the hole 13 of the frame body 11, passes through the inner ring of the bearing 7, and reaches the exit of the hole 13. In this state, both ends of the shaft 2 are adhesively fixed to the holes of the wheels 3. This completes the assembly of the pet toy 1.

[0026] (Explanation of how to play with pet using pet toy 1) A method for a dog to play with the pet toy 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 shows an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the dog bites the protruding strip 12 of the frame 11.

[0027] First, as shown in Fig. 3, (A) the dog bites the protruding strips 12 of the frame 10 (biting behavior). If the dog does not bite the protruding strips 12, for example, a flavor or powder that dogs like may be applied to the protruding strips 12 of the frame 10.

[0028] Next, (B) when the dog bites the protrusions 12 of the frame 10, the shape of the protrusions 12 is tapered and the surface of the protrusions 12 is a sliding surface that slides against the dog's teeth, so that the dog's teeth slide along the sliding surface, causing the protrusions 12 to be expelled from the dog's mouth. As a result, the force of the dog biting the protrusions 12 is converted into a pushing force against the frame 10. The pet toy 1 is equipped with wheels 3, and moves due to the pushing force against the frame 10. In other words, the biting behavior triggers the pet toy 1 to move away from the dog (escape behavior).

[0029] Next, (C) the dog's hunting instinct is awakened by the escape behavior of the pet toy 1 triggered by the biting behavior, and the dog chases the pet toy 1 and catches up with it (chasing behavior), and again bites the convex strip 12 of the frame 10 (return to (A)).

[0030] The behavior of (A)→(B)→(C)→(A)… reproduces the escape-and-catch behavior that occurs daily in the natural world, such as escaped prey and animals hunting it, and can keep a dog's interest for a long time. Therefore, since a dog can repeat the behavior of (A)→(B)→(C)→(A)… without getting bored, it can relieve the dog's lack of exercise and stress.

[0031] In this way, the pet toy 1 of the present invention awakens the pet's hunting instinct through the escape behavior of the pet toy 1, which is powered by the pet's contact (e.g. biting), thereby relieving the pet's lack of exercise and stress. (Description of Other Embodiments)

[0032] 1, the wheels 3 are fixed to both ends of the axle 2, and the axle 2 is rotatably supported by the frame 10 via the bearings 7. However, it is sufficient that the wheels 3 are rotatably supported by the frame 10. For example, protrusions (not shown) may be formed in the center of the left and right faces of the frame, and the wheels may be rotatably supported by the protrusions.

[0033] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and examples, and the technical scope of the claims includes various modified forms of design without departing from the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1. Pet toys 2-axis 3 wheels 7. Bearings 10 Frames 12 Convex stripe (convex part)

Claims

1. A frame, A wheel rotatably supported on the frame, The frame is formed with a tapered protrusion that can be inserted into the pet's mouth, The surface of the protrusion is formed with a sliding surface that slides against the pet's teeth, When a pet bites the protruding portion, the pet's teeth slide along the sliding surface, and the protruding portion is expelled from the pet's mouth. A pet toy characterized by the above.

2. 2. The pet toy of claim 1, a shaft rotatably supported by the frame via a bearing, The wheels are fixed to both ends of the axle. A pet toy characterized by the above.

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