Toilet for pet

Abstract

To provide a toilet for a pet capable of preventing a lifting part from unintentionally coming off even when a pet and the lifting part contact with each other, and excellent in conveyance properties.SOLUTION: A toilet 1 for a pet includes: a toilet body 3 having a bottom 8 and a peripheral wall 9 surrounding the bottom 8; and a lifting part formation member 30 for forming a lifting part 130 facilitating approach of the pet into the toilet body 3. The lifting part formation member 30 has an engaging part 6 with the toilet body 3 at the upper end side of the lifting part 130, the engaging part 6 is engaged with the toilet body 3, and the lower end side of the lifting part 130 can be arranged in a state of being grounded on the installation surface of the toilet 1 for the pet. An engagement state of the lifting part formation member 30 with the toilet body 3 is retained even if the lifting part 130 is pulled up in a vertical direction and obliquely upward on the outside of the toilet body 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a toilet for pets.

Background Art

[0002] As a toilet for pets for treating excretions (such as urine) of pets such as cats and dogs, a tray-shaped container with an excrement treatment material such as sand spread at the bottom is known. When breeding a cat, for example, using such a toilet, since the cat has a habit of covering the excrement with sand after excretion, it is necessary to prevent the sand from scattering. For this purpose, it is necessary to increase the height of the peripheral wall of the tray that houses the sand in the pet toilet. However, in such a toilet, since the position of the entrance and exit is high, when the cat's physical ability has declined due to old age, illness, etc., it is difficult to enter the toilet because the entrance and exit are high. As a toilet that can be used by cats that cannot climb over the high side walls, such as cats with reduced physical ability, for example, the pet toilets described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have been proposed.

[0003] The pet toilet described in Patent Document 1 has a rectangular and deep-bottomed toilet sand tray, a scooping carriage at the end of the tray, a driving part for driving the scooping carriage along the tray, a driving excrement drawer provided in the scooping carriage, and a lattice supported by a shaft and provided perpendicular to the excrement drawer. In this pet toilet, a lifting part that facilitates the pet's entry into the tray is detachably provided.

[0004] The pet toilet described in Patent Document 2 includes an outer container having a bottom and side walls erected on the periphery of the bottom, and an inner container disposed inside the outer container and having a bottom of a basket structure through which pet excretions can permeate and side walls erected on the periphery of the bottom. In this pet toilet, two cut portions extending downward from the upper end are provided on a part of the side wall of the inner container, and a linear thin portion substantially parallel to the upper end of the wall portion is formed between the lower ends of the two cut portions. The portion sandwiched between the two cut portions can be rotated with the thin portion as a hinge, and by rotating the portion sandwiched between the two cut portions outward of the container with the thin portion as a hinge, a pet entry portion can be formed, and a lifting portion capable of guiding a pet to the pet entry portion can be formed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In the pet toilet of Patent Document 1, when the pet comes into contact with the lifting portion, the lifting portion may easily come off from the tray. The toilet for pets in Patent Document 2 has the toilet for pets and the lifting part integrally formed in a non-separable manner, so even if the pet comes into contact with the lifting part, it is possible to prevent the lifting part from coming off. However, due to the integration of the toilet for pets and the lifting part in Patent Document 2, the size of the toilet for pets becomes large. For example, when it is stored in a packaging box such as a cardboard box for transportation, storage, display, etc., a packaging box with dimensions that are slightly larger is required, resulting in a loss of efficiency in transportation, etc., or a lack of portability when the toilet for pets has to be carried when traveling with the pet. There was such a problem.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention relates to providing a pet toilet that can prevent the lifting part from accidentally coming off even when the pet comes into contact with the lifting part, and that is excellent in terms of portability and the like.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The present invention relates to a pet toilet comprising a toilet body having a bottom and a peripheral wall surrounding the bottom, and a lifting part forming member that forms a lifting part to facilitate the entry of a pet into the toilet body. As one embodiment, it is preferable that the lifting part forming member has an engaging part with respect to the toilet body on the upper end side of the lifting part, and the engaging part can be engaged with the toilet body and the lower end side of the lifting part can be placed in a state of being grounded on the installation surface of the pet toilet. As one embodiment, it is preferable that the engaging state of the lifting part forming member with respect to the toilet body is maintained even when trying to pull up the lifting part in the vertical direction and obliquely upward outside the toilet body.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, even when the pet comes into contact with the lifting part, it is possible to prevent the lifting part from accidentally coming off, and it is possible to provide a pet toilet that is excellent in terms of portability and the like.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings based on its preferred embodiments. The pet toilet of the present invention is preferably used as an excretion place for pets such as cats, dogs, and rabbits, which are mammals. Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the pet toilet of the present invention. The pet toilet 1 of the present embodiment (hereinafter also simply referred to as "toilet") includes a toilet body 3 having a bottom 8 and a peripheral wall 9 surrounding the bottom 8, and an elevating portion forming member 30 that forms an elevating portion 130 to facilitate the entry of the pet into the toilet body 3. The peripheral wall 9 surrounding the bottom 8 only needs to surround the bottom 8 in a plan view of the toilet, and preferably rises from the peripheral edge of the bottom 8.

[0012] The toilet body 3 of the present embodiment includes an outer container 10 and an inner container 20. The toilet body 3 may have another member in addition to the outer container 10 and the inner container 20. As shown in Fig. 3, the toilet 1 of the present embodiment has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view having a longitudinal direction X and a lateral direction Y orthogonal to the longitudinal direction X, and also has a height direction Z orthogonal to the XY plane. The outer container 10 and the inner container 20 also each have a longitudinal direction X, a lateral direction Y, and a height direction Z, similar to the toilet 1. The plan view shape of the pet toilet of the present invention is not limited to a substantially rectangular shape, and can be any other shape such as a substantially square shape or an elliptical shape. As shown in Fig. 2, the outer container 10 and the inner container 20 of the present embodiment are detachable, and the inner container 20 is disposed in a nested manner inside the outer container 10.

[0013] The outer container 10 has a bottom portion 11 and a peripheral wall 12 surrounding the bottom portion 11. The peripheral wall 12 surrounding the bottom portion 11 only needs to surround the bottom portion 11 in a plan view of the outer container 10. In the present embodiment, the peripheral wall 12 rises from the peripheral edge portion of the bottom portion 11. Also, the bottom portion 11 is substantially rectangular in a plan view, and the peripheral wall 12 is slightly inclined outward of the outer container 10. The upper end 14 of the peripheral wall 12 is warped outward of the outer container 10. The peripheral wall 12 has opposing planar first wall portions 12a and 12b. Further, the peripheral wall 12 has opposing planar third wall portions 12c and 12d.

[0014] The inner container 20 has a bottom portion 21 and a peripheral wall 22 surrounding the bottom portion 21. The peripheral wall 22 surrounding the bottom portion 21 only needs to surround the bottom portion 21 in a plan view of the inner container 20. In the present embodiment, the peripheral wall 22 rises from the peripheral edge portion of the bottom portion 21. Also, the bottom portion 21 is substantially rectangular in a plan view. The bottom portion 21 is substantially similar to the bottom portion 11 of the outer container 10 and is smaller than the bottom portion 11. The bottom portion 21 has a basket-like liquid passage portion 23 through which the excreted liquid of the pet can permeate. More specifically, the liquid passage portion 23 is composed of lattice-like cross bars 23a and through holes 23b defined by the cross bars 23a. The peripheral wall 22 is slightly inclined outward of the inner container 20. The upper end 24 of the peripheral wall 22 is warped outward of the inner container 20. The peripheral wall 22 has opposing planar first wall portions 22a and 22b. Further, the peripheral wall 22 has opposing planar third wall portions 22c and 22d.

[0015] When the inner container 20 is disposed inside the outer container 10, the upper end 24 of the peripheral wall 22 of the inner container 20 abuts on the upper end 14 of the peripheral wall 12 of the outer container 10. Thereby, the inner container 20 is held in a nested state in the outer container 10, and the peripheral wall 9 of the toilet body 3 is formed by the peripheral wall 22 of the inner container 20 and the peripheral wall 12 of the outer container 10. In this state, the bottom 21 of the basket-like structure of the inner container 20 is spaced upward from the bottom 11 of the outer container 10 (see FIG. 4). Therefore, a space is formed between the bottom 21 of the inner container 20 and the bottom 11 of the outer container 10. In this space, for example, a sheet-like liquid-absorbing material (not shown) can be disposed. The lower surface of the sheet-like liquid-absorbing material abuts on the upper surface of the bottom 11 of the outer container 10. The sheet-like shape includes a mat-like shape.

[0016] On the bottom 21 of the inner container 20, it is possible to dispose an excrement treatment material P or the like (see FIG. 1) having a size such that it does not pass through the through-hole 23b of the liquid passage portion 23 provided in the bottom 21 according to the habits of the target animal. For example, when the pet is a cat, it is preferable to use a commercially available excrement treatment material such as cat litter. When the excrement treatment material P is disposed on the bottom 21 of the inner container 20, the excrement treatment material P includes, for example, one or more components such as a pulverized product of a plant-derived material, a synthetic resin, and a clay mineral, and is formed into a predetermined shape. Examples of the shape of the excrement treatment material can be a cylindrical shape, a spherical shape, a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped, or the like.

[0017] When a urine absorber is disposed in the space between the bottom 21 of the inner container 20 and the bottom 11 of the outer container 10, as the urine absorber, for example, a raw material containing one or more components such as pulp fibers, clay mineral-based materials, and high-molecular water-absorbing materials formed into a sheet shape or a plate shape can be used.

[0018] Both the outer container 10 and the inner container 20 can be manufactured, for example, by injection molding of synthetic resin. The material of each member constituting the toilet body 3 is not particularly limited as long as it has corrosion resistance against pet excrement. From the viewpoints of being lightweight, easy to handle, and having good moldability, it is preferably made of synthetic resin. For example, it is preferably integrally formed of a general-purpose synthetic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS), etc. Further, it is more preferable to use members constituting the pet toilet that are subjected to water-repellent processing or antibacterial processing on the surface.

[0019] In the present embodiment, the elevating part forming member 30 is a separate member from the outer container 10 and the inner container 20, and can be detachably engaged with the toilet body 3. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, it has an elevating part forming part 31 that forms the elevating part 130 when attached to the toilet body 3, and also has an engaging part 6 with respect to the toilet body 3 on the upper end side of the elevating part 130. The upper end side of the elevating part 130 is, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the side located on the inclined upper end side of the elevating part 130 in a state where the end of the inclined lower end side of the elevating part 130 is grounded on the installation surface 50 such as the floor surface where the toilet 1 is installed. In the present embodiment, the elevating part forming part 31 is flat plate-shaped, and the elevating part forming member 30 as a whole also has a substantially plate shape. The engaging part 6 is formed on the upper end side of the elevating part 130 in the elevating part forming member 30, and the engaging part 6 in the present embodiment has a curved part 32 that bends downward in the Z direction (see FIGS. 4(b) and 5). As in the present embodiment, it is preferable that the elevating part forming member 30 is provided with an engaging part that engages with one or both parts of the outer container 10 and the inner container 20. The surface that becomes the upper surface of the elevating part 130 in the elevating part forming part 31 may be a flat surface without unevenness, or may have an anti-slip structure. Also, the elevating part forming part 31 of the elevating part forming member 30 may be stepped as shown in FIG. 9. The number of steps of the stairs can be appropriately changed according to the type or physical ability of the pet to be raised, and may be 2 steps or less, or 4 steps or more.

[0020] The elevating part forming member 30 can be manufactured, for example, by injection molding of a synthetic resin. The material constituting the elevating part forming member 30 is not particularly limited as long as it has corrosion resistance against pet excrement. From the viewpoints of being lightweight, easy to handle, and having good moldability, etc., it is preferably made of synthetic resin. For example, those integrally molded from general-purpose synthetic resins such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, vinyl chloride, and ABS are preferable.

[0021] To form the toilet 1 using the outer container 10, the inner container 20, and the elevating part forming member 30 having the above configuration, after engaging the curved part 32 (engaging part 6) of the elevating part forming member 30 with the curved part 32 (engaging part 6) of the elevating part forming member 30 and the peripheral wall 12 of the outer container 10, the inner container 20 is disposed inside the outer container 10. That is, after disposing the curved part 32 (engaging part 6) so as to cover the upper end 14 of the peripheral wall 12 of the outer container 10, the inner container 20 is disposed inside the outer container 10 so as to cover the curved part 32 (engaging part 6) with the fixing part 26 which is a part of the upper end 24 of the inner container 20. With such a configuration, since the curved part 32 (engaging part 6) is restrained so as not to come out from the space between the outer container 10 and the inner container 20, the engagement state of the elevating part forming member 30 with respect to the toilet body 3 is maintained (see Fig. 3(b)). Further, in a state where the elevating part forming member 30 is engaged with the toilet body 3, the lower end side of the elevating part 130 can be disposed in a state of being grounded to the installation surface 50 of the pet toilet.

[0022] In the engagement state between the toilet body 3 and the elevating part forming member 30 described above, even if an attempt is made to pull up the elevating part 130 in the vertical direction from the state where the lower end side of the elevating part 130 is grounded to the installation surface 50 (the state shown in Fig. 1), the engagement state of the elevating part forming member 30 with respect to the toilet body 3 is maintained. Also, even if an attempt is made to pull up the elevating part 130 obliquely upward outside the toilet body 3, the engagement state of the elevating part forming member 30 with respect to the toilet body 3 is maintained. More specifically, in the toilet 1 of the present embodiment, since the curved portion 32 (engagement portion 6) is engaged with the peripheral wall 9 of the toilet body 3, even if an attempt is made to pull up the lifting portion 130 in the vertical direction (F1 direction), or even if an attempt is made to pull it up obliquely upward (F2 direction) outside the toilet body 3 (see Fig. 5), the engagement state between the toilet body 3 and the lifting portion forming member 30 can be maintained in any direction. Note that the outer oblique upper direction means the outer oblique upper direction between the outside and the inside of the toilet body 3.

[0023] In the toilet 1 of the present invention, since the lifting portion forming member 30 is detachable from the toilet body 3, transportation is easy by removing and transporting the lifting portion forming member 30. For example, when storing, transporting, displaying, etc. in a packaging box such as a cardboard box, a packaging box that is downsized to the same extent as in the case where there is no lifting portion can be used, and transportation, storage, display, etc. can be performed efficiently. Further, since the lifting portion forming member 30 can be detachably engaged with the toilet body 3, it is easy to carry, for example, when it is necessary to carry a pet toilet for traveling with a pet. Also, the lifting portion forming member 30 can be attached to the toilet body 3 to easily form the lifting portion 130. During use as the toilet 1 with the lifting portion 130 formed, even if an attempt is made to pull up the lifting portion 130 in the vertical direction and obliquely upward outside the toilet body 3, the engagement state between the toilet body 3 and the lifting portion forming member 30 can be maintained. Therefore, even if a pet touches the lifting portion 130, there is no risk that the lifting portion 130 will accidentally come off. In this way, the toilet 1 of the embodiment has no risk that the lifting portion 130 will accidentally come off even if a pet touches the lifting portion 130, and is excellent in transportability and the like. Further, in a state where the lifting portion forming member 30 is engaged with the toilet body 3, since the lifting portion forming member 30 is rotatable, even if there are some irregularities (unevenness, etc.) on the installation surface 50 of the pet toilet on the lower end side of the lifting portion 130, the lower end side can be arranged in a state where it is surely grounded. Therefore, even a pet with reduced physical ability due to old age, illness, etc. can easily use the lifting portion 130.

[0024] Furthermore, in the toilet 1 of the present embodiment, the curved portion 32 of the elevating portion forming member 30 engages with the peripheral wall 12 of the outer container 10, and the fixed portion 26, which is a part of the inner container 20, covers the curved portion 32, thereby maintaining the engagement state of the elevating portion forming member 30 with respect to the toilet body 3. Therefore, the inner container 20 can be removed from the outer container 10 without removing the elevating portion 130. As a result, when removing the inner container 20 from the toilet 1, there is no need to remove the elevating portion 130, so that the cleaning of the inner container 20 and the replacement of the sheet-like liquid-absorbing material (not shown) disposed in the space between the bottom 21 of the inner container 20 and the bottom 11 of the outer container 10 can be performed more smoothly.

[0025] In the engagement state between the toilet body 3 and the elevating portion forming member 30 described above, in any state from the state where the lower end side of the elevating portion 130 is in contact with the installation surface 50 (the state indicated by reference numeral A in FIG. 4(b)) to the state where the elevating portion 130 is horizontal (the state indicated by reference numeral B in FIG. 4(b)), the engagement state of the elevating portion forming member 30 with respect to the toilet body 3 is maintained. More specifically, in the toilet 1 of the present embodiment, since the curved portion 32 (engagement portion 6) engages with the peripheral wall 9 of the toilet body 3, even if the lower end portion of the elevating portion 130 is lifted from the installation surface 50 to a horizontal state, the engagement state between the toilet body 3 and the elevating portion forming member 30 can be maintained. Hereinafter, the range within which the elevating portion 130 can rotate while maintaining the engagement state between the toilet body 3 and the elevating portion forming member 30 is also referred to as the "rotatable range".

[0026] In the toilet 1 of the present embodiment, from the viewpoint of preventing the elevating portion 130 from accidentally coming off when a pet touches the elevating portion 130 or the like, when the lower end side of the elevating portion 130 is lifted upward and the angle when the elevating portion 130 is in a horizontal state is set to 0°, the rotatable range (angle range) θ2 is upward with respect to the horizontal direction, preferably 45° or more, more preferably 60° or more. Also, in the toilet 1 of the present embodiment, from the viewpoint of easily removing the elevating portion forming member 30 without removing the inner container 20, when the angle when the elevating portion 130 is in the horizontal state is set to 0°, the rotatable range (angle range) θ1 is downward with respect to the horizontal direction, preferably 45° or less, more preferably 20° or less.

[0027] Also, the elevating portion forming member 30 may have a structure that cannot be removed from the toilet body 3 unless the gap between the inner container 20 and the outer container 10 is intentionally enlarged. However, it is also preferable to make it possible to easily remove the elevating portion forming member 30 from the toilet body 3 by rotating it intentionally to a predetermined state exceeding the above-described rotatable range.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 3, in the toilet 1 of the present embodiment, it is preferable that a part of the peripheral wall 12 of the outer container 10, specifically, a substantially central region in the longitudinal direction X of the first wall portion 12a, is cut out in a substantially inverted trapezoidal shape downward from the upper end 14 of the first wall portion 12a. As a result, an outer lower wall forming portion 15, which is a portion having a lower height than other portions of the peripheral wall 12, is provided on the first wall portion 12a. The upper end 15a of the outer lower wall forming portion 15 of the present embodiment is substantially parallel to the upper ends 14 of other portions of the peripheral wall 12, but may have a shape that is warped outward with respect to the outer container 10. The length of the upper end 15a in the longitudinal direction X is preferably 10% or more and 100% or less, more preferably 30% or more and 90% or less, still more preferably 50% or more and 90% or less, with respect to the length of the first wall portion 12a in the longitudinal direction X.

[0029] Similar to the outer container 10, a part of the peripheral wall 22 of the inner container 20 is also cut away. Specifically, in the inner container 20, a substantially central region in the longitudinal direction X of a part of its peripheral wall 22, specifically the first wall portion 22a, is cut away in a substantially trapezoidal shape downward from the upper end 24 of the first wall portion 22a. As a result, an inner low wall forming portion 25, which is a portion having a lower height than other portions of the peripheral wall 22, is provided on the first wall portion 22a. The upper end 25a of the inner low wall forming portion 25 is warped outwardly of the inner container 20. The length of the upper end 25a in the longitudinal direction X is preferably 10% or more and 100% or less, more preferably 30% or more and 90% or less, and still more preferably 50% or more and 90% or less with respect to the length of the first wall portion 22a in the longitudinal direction X.

[0030] In the toilet body 3 in the state shown in Fig. 3(a), the length of the outer low wall forming portion 15 in the longitudinal direction X and the length of the inner low wall forming portion 25 in the longitudinal direction X are substantially the same. However, instead of this, the length of the outer low wall forming portion 15 in the longitudinal direction X may be made wider than the length of the inner low wall forming portion 25 in the longitudinal direction X, or conversely, the length of the inner low wall forming portion 25 in the longitudinal direction X may be made wider than the length of the outer low wall forming portion 15 in the longitudinal direction X.

[0031] When the outer low wall forming portion 15 is provided on the outer container 10 and the inner low wall forming portion 25 is provided on the inner container 20, it is preferable to dispose the inner container 20 inside the outer container 10 with the positions of the outer low wall forming portion 15 in the outer container 10 and the inner low wall forming portion 25 in the inner container 20 being aligned. That is, in the state where the inner container 20 is disposed inside the outer container 10, it is preferable that the first wall portion 12a of the outer container 10 and the first wall portion 22a of the inner container 20 face each other. By disposing the two containers 10 and 20 in this way, the positions of the outer low wall forming portion 15 and the inner low wall forming portion 25 are aligned, and an entrance portion 2 is formed in the toilet body 3, which has a lower height than the peripheral walls 9 of the portions adjacent to both the left and right sides thereof, and through which a pet can enter the toilet body 3.

[0032] From the perspective of facilitating the pet's entry and exit to the toilet main body 3 through the lifting part 130, it is preferable that the curved part 32 (engagement part 6) of the lifting part forming member 30 engages with the toilet main body 3 at the entrance part 2. By doing so, the angle formed between the installation surface 50 and the lifting part forming part 31 of the lifting part forming member 30 becomes gentle, and even for a pet with reduced physical ability due to old age, illness, etc., the lifting part 130 can be easily used. From the perspective of ensuring the above effects, the inclination angle of the lifting part 130, more specifically, the angle formed between the installation surface 50 and the upper surface of the lifting part 130, is preferably 6° or more and 45° or less, more preferably 8° or more and 30° or less, and even more preferably 10° or more and 20° or less. The vertical distance L1 of the lifting part 130 of the lifting part forming member 30 is preferably 65 mm or more and 800 mm or less, more preferably 70 mm or more and 700 mm or less, and even more preferably 80 mm or more and 600 mm or less. The distance in the height direction L2 from the bottom 8 of the toilet main body 3 to the entrance part 2 is preferably 40 mm or more and 150 mm or less, more preferably 50 mm or more and 120 mm or less, and even more preferably 55 mm or more and 110 mm or less.

[0033] The toilet 1 of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Hereinafter, another embodiment of the toilet 1 according to the present invention will be described. In the following, for another embodiment, the components different from those in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 will be mainly described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. For the components not specifically described, the description of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 will be appropriately applied.

[0034] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the curved portion 32 of the elevating portion forming member 30 engages with the peripheral wall 12 of the outer container 10, but is not limited to such a form. For example, in the embodiment showing the main part of FIG. 6, at the upper end 24 of the peripheral wall 22 in the inner container 20, a part of the peripheral wall 22 is folded downward to form a fixing portion 26. Further, the elevating portion forming member 30a has a curved portion 32 bent upward in the Z direction on the upper end side of the elevating portion 130a. Thereby, the curved portion 32 can engage with the portion extending downward in the fixing portion of the inner container 20. Also, the engaged state is maintained by the lower support by the upper end of the peripheral wall of the outer container 10. Also, in the toilet of the embodiment showing the main part in FIG. 6, even when attempting to pull up the elevating portion 130a in the vertical direction and obliquely upward outside the toilet body 3, the engaged state is maintained. Further, the engaged state is maintained in any state from the state where the lower end side of the elevating portion 130 is in contact with the installation surface to the state where the elevating portion 130 becomes horizontal.

[0035] In the embodiment showing the main part in FIG. 6, from the viewpoint of preventing the elevating portion 130a from accidentally coming off even when a pet touches the elevating portion 130a when the lower end side of the elevating portion 130a is lifted upward and the angle when the elevating portion 130a becomes horizontal is set to 0°, the rotatable range (angle range) θ4 is upward with respect to the horizontal direction, preferably 45° or more, more preferably 60° or more. Also, in the embodiment showing the main part in FIG. 6, from the viewpoint of easily removing the elevating portion forming member 30a without removing the inner container 20, when the angle when the elevating portion 130a becomes horizontal is set to 0°, the rotatable range (angle range) θ3 is downward with respect to the horizontal direction, preferably 45° or less, more preferably 20° or less.

[0036] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the engaging portion 6 of the elevating portion forming member 30 had the curved portion 32 that bent downward in the Z direction or upward in the Z direction on the upper end side of the elevating portion 130. However, it may not have the curved portion 32. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the engaging portion 6 may be locking protrusions 33, 33 that can engage with the toilet body 3 instead of the curved portion 32. In this case, the locking protrusion 33 is preferably, for example, a hook-shaped protrusion that engages with the upper edge portion of the entrance portion 2 as shown in FIG. 7, and the portion disposed inside the entrance portion 2 preferably protrudes outward in both horizontal directions and extends obliquely downward. In such a form, unlike the above-described embodiment, after engaging the elevating portion forming member 30b with the toilet body 3, the engaged state can be maintained without covering the engaging portion 6 (locking protrusion 33) with the upper end 24 of the inner container 20. Also, in the toilet of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, even when attempting to pull up the elevating portion 130b in the vertical direction and obliquely upward outside the toilet body 3, the engaged state is maintained. In the toilet 1b of the present embodiment, when the lower end side of the elevating portion 130b is lifted upward and the angle when the elevating portion 130b is in a horizontal state is set to 0°, from the viewpoint of preventing the elevating portion 130 from accidentally coming off even when the pet contacts the elevating portion 130, the rotatable range is upward with respect to the horizontal direction, preferably 0° or more, more preferably 90° or more. Also, from the viewpoint of preventing the elevating portion 130 from accidentally coming off even when the pet contacts the elevating portion 130, the length of the locking protrusion 33 is preferably 3 mm or more and 100 mm or less, more preferably 5 mm or more and 50 mm or less.

[0037] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a toilet 1c having a form different from the above-described embodiment. It is also preferable that a tray 4 constituting a urine receiving portion for receiving urine is disposed in the space between the bottom portion 11 of the outer container 10 so as to be insertable and removable with respect to the toilet 1c. A large number of excrement treatment materials (not shown) in the form of granules or pellets having a porous structure are laid on the inner container 20.

[0038] The tray 4 has a flat tray bottom wall 41 forming the bottom surface, and tray side walls 42, 43 that rise obliquely from the periphery of the tray bottom wall 41 to form the side surfaces of the tray 4, and is configured as a container having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. Here, the bottom wall 41 of the tray 4 has the same area as the bottom 11 of the outer container 10. The height of each of the tray side walls 42, 43 is set to a value such that its upper end does not contact the bottom 21 of the inner container 20.

[0039] Each of the tray side walls 42 extends in the lateral direction Y of the tray 4 that is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction X of the tray 4 (the direction along the pulling-out direction Xa of the tray 4 described later). One of the tray side walls 42 is located on the front end side in the pulling-out direction Xa of the tray 4, and the other tray side wall 42 is located on the rear end side in the pulling-out direction Xa. And both tray side walls 43 extend in the pulling-out direction Xa of the tray 4.

[0040] As described above, the tray 4 is insertable into and removable from the outer container 10. As shown in FIG. 8, in a portion of the peripheral wall 12 located on one side in the longitudinal direction (X direction in FIG. 1) (the front end side in the pulling-out direction Xa of the tray 4), an opening 28 in the shape of an elongated rectangular slit in the width direction is formed. Therefore, the tray 4 can be pulled out in the pulling-out direction Xa from the toilet body 3c through the opening 28, and the pulled-out tray 4 can be inserted into the opening 28 and pushed in in the direction opposite to the pulling-out direction Xa to store the tray 4 in the outer container 10. Here, the shape and size of the opening 28 formed in the outer container 10 are set to be substantially the same as the shape and size of the cross section in the lateral direction Y that is orthogonal to the pulling-out direction Xa of the tray 4. Also, the length of the tray 4 in the longitudinal direction X is set to be the same as the length of the outer container 10 in the longitudinal direction.

[0041] As described above, the toilet 1c of this embodiment has a tray 4. Thereby, urine that has passed through the through-hole 23b without adhering to or being absorbed by the excrement treatment material can be accumulated on the tray 4 or absorbed by the urine absorber in the tray 4 and recovered. That is, by providing the tray 4, it becomes easy to treat the urine that has flowed down through the through-hole 23b.

[0042] Figs. 10(a) and (b) show a toilet 1d in a form different from the above-described embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the upper end 15a of the outer lower wall forming portion 15 was flat, but it does not have to be flat. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 10, instead of being flat, the upper end 15a may have locking convex portions 51, 51 that protrude upward and can be engaged with the elevating portion forming member 30d. In this case, the elevating portion forming member 30d is, for example, a flat plate shape without a curved portion, and it is preferable to have locking through-holes 52, 52 (engaging portions 6) that penetrate in the thickness direction of the elevating portion forming member 30 on the upper end side of the elevating portion 130d. In such a form, by inserting the locking convex portions 51, 51 arranged at the upper end 15a of the outer lower wall forming portion 15 into the locking through-holes 52, 52 (engaging portions 6) of the elevating portion forming member 30d, the engaging state of the elevating portion forming member 30d with respect to the toilet body 3d is maintained (see Fig. 10(b)). Also in the toilet of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, even if an attempt is made to pull up the elevating portion 130b in the vertical direction and obliquely upward outside the toilet body 3, the engaging state is maintained. Note that the shape of the locking convex portion 51 can be any shape such as an ellipse or a circle in plan view. Also, the number of the locking convex portions 51 may be 3 or more, preferably 2 or more and 4 or less.

[0043] Fig. 11(a) shows a toilet 1e in a form different from the above-described embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the toilet body 3 was formed of two layers, namely, the outer container 10 and the inner container 20. However, instead of the two-layer configuration, it may be a single-layer configuration. Specifically, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11(a), the toilet body 3e is formed of a single layer, and at the upper end of the peripheral wall 9 in the toilet body 3e, a part of the peripheral wall 9 is folded downward to form a fixing portion 26. Further, as shown in FIG. 11(a), the lifting portion forming member 30e has a plate-shaped support 61 on the upper end side of the lifting portion 130e. The support 61 supports the angle formed by the installation surface 50 and the upper surface of the lifting portion 130e to be constant. The height from the bottom 8 to the fixing portion 26 is substantially the same as the height of the support 61, and by covering the upper end portion of the support 61 with the fixing portion 26 of the toilet body 3e, the support 61 and the fixing portion 26 of the toilet body 3e can be engaged. The fixing portion 26 is preferably provided, for example, in the entrance portion 2. Also in the toilet 1e of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11(a), even if an attempt is made to pull up the lifting portion 130e in the vertical direction (F1 direction) and obliquely upward outside the toilet body 3e (F2 direction), the engaged state is maintained. In this embodiment, the height from the bottom 8 to the fixing portion 26 is substantially the same as the height of the support 61, but the height of the support 61 may be 80% or more and 99% or less with respect to the height from the bottom 8 to the fixing portion 26.

[0044] From the viewpoint that even a pet with reduced physical ability due to old age, illness, etc. can easily use the lifting portion 130e, the angle formed by the installation surface 50 and the upper surface of the lifting portion 130e is preferably 6° or more and 45° or less, and more preferably 8° or more and 30° or less. Note that the lifting portion forming member 30e can stand on its own in a state where the fixing portion 26 does not cover the upper end portion of the support 61.

[0045] When raising a grown healthy pet, from the viewpoint of preventing excrement treatment materials P (not shown) disposed in the toilet body 3e from scattering to the outside, the toilet 1e preferably has an extending portion 62 that extends upward in the Z direction from the peripheral wall 9, as shown in FIG. 11(b). The length L3 of the extending portion 62 is preferably 5 mm or more, more preferably 10 mm or more, from the viewpoint of preventing excrement treatment material P, etc. (not shown) from scattering to the outside. Also, from the viewpoint of facilitating entry of the pet into the toilet body 3e, the length L3 of the extending portion 62 is preferably 100 mm or less, more preferably 50 mm or less.

[0046] FIG. 12 shows a toilet 1f having a form different from the above-described embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the toilet body 3 maintains the engaged state of the elevating portion forming member 30 with respect to the toilet body 3 by the fixing portion 26 covering the engaging portion 6, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, at the upper end portion of the peripheral wall 9 in the toilet body 3f, a part of the peripheral wall 9 is folded back inwardly of the toilet body 3f to form an inwardly folded portion 71. The inwardly folded portion 71 is preferably formed in the entrance portion 2. Further, the elevating portion forming member 30f has a hook-shaped hook-shaped engaging portion 75 (engaging portion 6) on the upper end side of the elevating portion 130f. Thereby, the inwardly folded portion 71 and the hook-shaped engaging portion 75 (engaging portion 6) can be engaged with each other. Also in the toilet of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, even when the elevating portion 130f is pulled upward in the vertical direction (F1 direction) and obliquely upward outside the toilet body 3 (F2 direction), the engaged state is maintained.

[0047] FIGS. 13(a) and (b) show a toilet 1g having a form different from the above-described embodiment. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13(a), an inwardly folded portion 71 is formed at the upper end of the peripheral wall 9 in the toilet body 3g, with a part of the peripheral wall 9 folded back inwardly toward the inside of the toilet body 3g. A locking through-hole 72 penetrating in the thickness direction is formed in the inwardly folded portion 71. In this case, the engaging portion 6 is preferably, for example, a locking projection 73 protruding downward on the upper end side of the elevating portion 130g as shown in FIG. 13(a). The locking projection 73 is formed of an elastically deformable material, and has a projecting portion 74 projecting radially from the locking projection 73 on the lower end side thereof. The diameter of the projecting portion 74 is larger than the diameter of the locking through-hole 72, and the diameter of the portion of the locking projection 73 other than the projecting portion 74 is smaller than the aperture diameter of the locking through-hole 72. In such a configuration, by inserting the locking projection 73 disposed on the upper end side of the elevating portion 130g into the locking through-hole 72 of the inwardly folded portion 71, the elevating portion forming member 30g is engaged with the toilet body 3g (see FIG. 13(b)). Even when attempting to pull up the elevating portion forming member 30g in the vertical direction (F1 direction) and obliquely upward outside the toilet body (F2 direction) from the state of FIG. 13(b), since the diameter of the projecting portion 74 is larger than the diameter of the locking through-hole 72, the engaged state can be maintained. Further, after engaging the elevating portion forming member 30g with the toilet body 3g, the engaged state can be maintained without covering the engaging portion 6 (locking projection 73) with the upper end 24 of the inner container 20.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 14(a), the engaging portion 6 may be a hook-shaped locking projection 83 protruding downward that can be engaged with the toilet body 3 instead of the locking projection 73. In this case, the hook-shaped locking projection 83 is preferably, for example, a hook-shaped projection that engages with the locking through-hole 72 of the inwardly folded portion 71 as shown in FIG. 14(a), and the portion inserted into the locking through-hole 72 preferably extends vertically downward and obliquely downward. Also, even in such a form, after engaging the elevating part forming member 30h with the toilet body 3g, the engaged state can be maintained without covering the engaging part 6 (locking projection 33) with the upper end 24 of the inner container 20. Also in the toilet of the present embodiment, even when trying to pull up the elevating part 130h in the vertical direction (F1 direction) and obliquely upward outside the toilet body 3 (F2 direction), the engaged state is maintained (see Fig. 14(b)).

[0049] The toilet 1 of each of the above embodiments is preferably used for breeding small mammals such as cats, dogs, and rabbits, and is particularly preferably used for breeding cats.

[0050] As described above, the present invention has been described based on its preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 to 8, the bottoms 11 and 21 of the outer container 10 and the inner container 20 were substantially rectangular in plan view and had four side wall portions, but instead, an outer container and an inner container having three or five or more side wall portions may be used. Also, the side wall portions are not limited to planar ones and may be curved. For example, a bottomed cylindrical outer container and inner container may be used. Also, the shape of the elevating part forming part 31 of the elevating part forming member may be a trapezoidal shape or the like in which the width expands toward the lower end side of the elevating part, in addition to being substantially rectangular in plan view.

[0051] Also, in the toilet 1 of the above-described present embodiment, only one entry part 2 was formed, but instead, two or more pet entry parts may be formed. For example, in the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 to 8, on two adjacent side wall portions of the outer container 10, for example, the first side wall portion 12a and the third side wall portion 12c, an outer lower side wall portion is provided, and also in the inner container 20, corresponding to the outer container 10, an inner lower side wall portion can be provided on the first side wall portion 22a and the third side wall portion 22c. Also, it may be provided similarly at the corners of two adjacent peripheral walls. By doing so, in the toilet 1, entry parts are formed on each of two adjacent side wall portions. When providing elevating parts for these two entry parts, an elevating part forming member may be provided for each entry part.

[0052] Furthermore, in the toilet 1 of the present embodiment described above, the toilet body 3 was formed of two layers, namely, an outer container 10 and an inner container 20, but it may be formed of a single layer instead.

Explanation of Signs

[0053] 1, 1b, 1c Toilet for pets 2 Entrance part 3 Toilet body 10 Outer container 11 Bottom part 12 Peripheral wall 14 Upper end of the peripheral wall 15 Outer low wall forming part 20 Inner container 21 Bottom part 22 Peripheral wall 23 Basket-shaped liquid passage part 24 Upper end of the wall part 25 Inner low wall forming part 30 Lifting part forming member 31 Lifting part forming part 130 Lifting part

Claims

1. A toilet for pets, comprising a toilet body having a bottom and a peripheral wall surrounding the bottom, and a lifting part forming member for forming a lifting part that facilitates entry of a pet into the toilet body, wherein the lifting part forming member has an engaging part with respect to the toilet body on the upper end side of the lifting part, and can be arranged in a state where the engaging part is engaged with the toilet body and the lower end side of the lifting part is grounded on the installation surface of the pet toilet, and the engaging state of the lifting part forming member with respect to the toilet body is maintained even when the lifting part is pulled upward in the vertical direction and obliquely upward outside the toilet body. A toilet for pets.

2. The toilet for pets according to claim 1, wherein the lifting part forming member can be detachably engaged with the toilet body.

3. The toilet body has, on a part of the peripheral wall, an entrance part for a pet in which the height of the peripheral wall is partially lowered, and the engaging part of the lifting part forming member engages with the toilet body at the entrance part. The toilet for pets according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The toilet body includes an outer container having a bottom and a peripheral wall surrounding the bottom, and an inner container disposed inside the outer container and having a bottom and a peripheral wall surrounding the bottom, the inner container having a basket-shaped liquid-permeable part for pet excrement, wherein the engaging part of the lifting part forming member is constrained by the outer container and the inner container so as not to escape from the space between the outer container and the inner container, whereby the engaging state of the lifting part forming member with respect to the toilet body is maintained. The toilet for pets according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images