Animal toilet

Abstract

To provide a toilet for an animal, which is suitable to smoothly move urine to a lower space from an upper space.SOLUTION: A toilet 1 for an animal comprises a body part 10 and a partition part 20. The body part 10 assumes a box shape having a bottom surface part 10a and a lateral part 10b. The partition part 20, which has a through-hole 21 for allowing passage of urine, divides the inside of the body part 10 into upper and lower parts. An opening space of the through-hole 21 is variable.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an animal litter box. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of a conventional animal litter box is described in Patent Document 1. The animal litter box described in this document includes a box-shaped main body and a partition (rafter) disposed within the main body. A through hole is formed in the partition to allow urine to pass through. The internal space of the main body is divided into an upper space and a lower space by the partition. A plurality of granular materials having low water absorption are laid in the upper space (above the partition). An absorbent sheet is disposed in the lower space. In this animal litter box, urine excreted on the granular materials passes through the gaps between the granular materials and then moves from the upper space to the lower space through the through hole in the partition. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-180182 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In order to move urine smoothly from the upper space to the lower space, it is advantageous to increase the opening area of ​​the through-hole. However, there is a restriction that the through-hole must be large enough not to allow the granular material on the partition to pass through. The particle size of the granular material varies from product to product. Therefore, in conventional animal litter boxes, the opening area of ​​the through-hole had to be designed to be small so as not to allow the granular material to pass through, even when the granular material has a small particle size.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide an animal litter box that is suitable for smoothly moving urine from the upper space to the lower space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The animal litter box according to the present invention comprises a box-shaped main body having a bottom and side portions, and a partition having a through hole that allows urine to pass through and divides the main body into upper and lower portions, and is characterized in that the opening area of ​​the through hole is variable.

[0007] In this animal litter box, the opening area of ​​the through-hole is variable. In this case, the opening area of ​​the through-hole can be adjusted according to the particle size of the granular material laid on the partition. Therefore, by making the opening area of ​​the through-hole as large as possible without allowing the granular material to pass through, it becomes easier to move urine smoothly from the upper space to the lower space. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, an animal litter box suitable for smoothly moving urine from the upper space to the lower space is realized. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an end view showing one embodiment of an animal litter box according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an end view showing the main body portion 10. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the main body 10. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the main body 10. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the partition portion 20. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an end view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 7 is an end view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. [Figure 11]FIG. 2 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of a partition portion 20. [Figure 12] 10 is a diagram for explaining the opening area of ​​a through hole 21. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of a partition portion 20. [Figure 14] 10 is a diagram for explaining the opening area of ​​a through hole 21. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is an end view for explaining a fixing means (fastener 26). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals and duplicated description will be omitted.

[0011] Fig. 1 is an end view showing one embodiment of an animal litter box according to the present invention. With reference to the figure, the outline of the configuration of the animal litter box 1 will be described. The animal litter box 1 comprises a main body 10, a drawer 14, a partition 20, a plurality of granular bodies 30, and a water-absorbent sheet 40. The main body 10 is box-shaped with a bottom portion 10a and a side portion 10b. In this embodiment, the main body 10 is substantially rectangular. The material of the main body 10 can be, for example, a plastic such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

[0012] The main body 10 has a protruding portion 10c provided so as to protrude from the side surface portion 10b toward the inside of the main body 10. The protruding portion 10c may be a projection or a ridge. The protruding portion 10c may be molded integrally with the side surface portion 10b, or may be molded separately from the side surface portion 10b and then attached to the side surface portion 10b. The protruding length of the protruding portion 10c (the length in a direction perpendicular to the inner surface of the side surface portion 10b on which the protruding portion 10c is provided) is, for example, 5 mm or more and 15 mm or less.

[0013] The drawer 14 can be inserted into and removed from the main body 10 through an opening 12 formed in the side surface 10b. A water-absorbent sheet 40 is housed in the drawer 14. The drawer 14 can be made of a plastic such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

[0014] The partition 20 is placed on the overhang 10c. The partition 20 is not fixed to the main body 10. The partition 20 is detachable from the main body 10. The partition 20 is substantially plate-shaped and is disposed parallel to the bottom surface 10a. The partition 20 is provided at a position spaced apart from both the absorbent sheet 40 and the upper end of the main body 10. As a result, the partition 20 divides the inside of the main body 10 into upper and lower spaces. That is, the internal space of the main body 10 is divided by the partition 20 into an upper space S1 and a lower space S2. The partition 20 has a through hole 21 that allows urine to pass through. For example, plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene can be used as the material of the partition 20. Note that the detailed configuration of the partition 20 is omitted in FIG. 1. The detailed configuration of the partition 20 will be described later.

[0015] A plurality of granular bodies 30 are disposed within the main body 10. In the following description, "a plurality of granular bodies 30" refers to all of the granular bodies 30 disposed within the main body 10 unless otherwise specified. The plurality of granular bodies 30 are disposed within the main body 10 in a state of being laid on the partition 20. When the animal litter box 1 is in use, the granular bodies 30 directly receive excreted urine. The granular bodies 30 are water repellent. In other words, the granular bodies 30 have the property of not absorbing liquids such as urine at all, or absorbing very little, if any, of such liquids.

[0016] For the granular material 30 to be said to have water repellency, the water repellency measured by the following test must be 80% or more. First, 50 g of the granular material 30 (sample) is placed on a sieve with an inner diameter of 10 cm and mesh size of 1 mm. An empty beaker is placed under the sieve. Then, 30 ml of water is dripped onto the sample over 10 seconds using a syringe (Terumo 60 ml syringe) with an outer cylinder inner diameter of 3 cm and a tip inner diameter of 4 mm. After leaving it for 1 minute, the amount of water in the beaker is measured. The water repellency is determined as the ratio of the measured amount of water to the amount of dripped water (30 ml). In other words, if the amount of water in the beaker is 24 ml or more, the water repellency is 80% or more, and it can be said that the granular material 30 has water repellency. For reference, the water repellency of typical absorbent cat litter available on the market is about 5%.

[0017] The granular body 30 is formed into a granular shape. Examples of the granular shape include a sphere, a cylinder, and an ellipsoid. The particle diameter of the granular body 30 is, for example, 5 mm or more and 20 mm or less. The particle diameter of each granular body 30 is preferably greater than 15 mm. Here, the particle diameter is defined as the diameter of the smallest sphere capable of containing the granular body 30. The granular body 30 is preferably made mainly of an organic material. Here, the main material refers to the material that has the largest weight ratio in the granular body 30 among one or more materials that constitute the granular body 30. As the organic material, for example, paper, used tea leaves, plastics, or soybean lees can be used.

[0018] Papers refer to materials mainly composed of pulp. Examples of papers include, in addition to ordinary paper, PVC wallpaper fractions, photographic paper, release paper, fluff pulp, papermaking sludge, pulp sludge, and the like. PVC wallpaper fractions are obtained by removing a portion of the polyvinyl chloride from PVC wallpaper containing paper and polyvinyl chloride. Examples of plastics include, in addition to ordinary plastics, aluminum vapor deposition films, disposable diaper fractions (plastics obtained by classifying disposable diapers), and the like. The bean curd refuse is preferably dried bean curd refuse. These materials may be treated to be water repellent.

[0019] The granular body 30 may be made of only one material, or may be made of two or more materials. In the former case, the material making up the granular body 30 is only the main material described above. In the latter case, the granular body 30 is made of a mixture of the main material and other materials. An example of the other material is gypsum. By adding gypsum, the water repellency of the granular body 30 can be increased. The amount of gypsum is, for example, 5% by weight or more and 15% by weight or less with respect to the entire granular body 30.

[0020] The granular body 30 can be manufactured, for example, by the following method. First, the material to be granulated (material constituting the granular body 30) is granulated using a granulation device to form a granulated product constituting the granular body 30. As the granulation device, for example, an extrusion granulator can be used. The granulated product may be subjected to a water-repellent treatment as necessary. The water-repellent treatment can be performed, for example, by coating the surface of the granulated product with a water-repellent agent. When the water-repellent treatment is not performed, it is preferable to increase the pressure applied to the material to be granulated during granulation so as to prevent gaps from being generated as much as possible in the granulated product. This is because such gaps become a path through which moisture such as urine penetrates into the inside of the granular body 30. Prior to granulation, the material to be granulated is subjected to pre-treatment such as pulverization, kneading, and water addition as necessary. In addition, after granulation, post-treatment such as sieving (sizing) and drying is performed as necessary.

[0021] An absorbent sheet 40 is disposed below the partition 20. In this embodiment, the absorbent sheet 40 is disposed within the main body 10 in a state where it is housed in the drawer 14. The absorbent sheet 40 absorbs urine that has passed through the through-holes 21 of the partition 20.

[0022] When the animal litter box 1 is in use, urine excreted on the granules 30 flows downward, threading its way through the gaps between adjacent granules 30. The urine moves from the upper space S1 to the lower space S2 through the through-holes 21 of the partition 20, and is absorbed by the absorbent sheet 40.

[0023] Hereinafter, the configuration of each part of the animal litter box 1 will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 2 to 14. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are an end view, a front view, and a plan view, respectively, of the main body 10. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, an opening 12 for inserting and removing the drawer 14 is formed in the side surface 10b of the main body 10. The opening 12 is located near the bottom surface 10a and has a horizontally long rectangular shape. The length of the opening 12 in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in Fig. 3) is approximately equal to the inner width of the main body 10, and is, for example, 20 cm to 40 cm. The length of the opening 12 in the vertical direction (up-down direction in Fig. 3) is, for example, 2 cm to 5 cm. Also, as shown in Fig. 4, in this embodiment, the protruding part 10c is formed of a protruding strip provided in an annular shape around the entire circumference of the inner surface of the side surface 10b in a plan view.

[0024] 5 is a perspective view of the drawer 14. The drawer 14 has a bottom plate 14a, a front plate 14b, a tip plate 14c, and a pair of side plates 14d. The size of the bottom plate 14a is approximately equal to the size of the bottom surface portion 10a of the main body 10. The front plate 14b has approximately the same shape and size as the opening 12. A handle 15 is attached to the front plate 14b.

[0025] Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the partition section 20. Figs. 7 and 8 are end views taken along lines VII-VII and VIII-VIII in Fig. 6, respectively. The partition section 20 has a plurality of through holes 21. The plurality of through holes 21 are two-dimensionally arranged in the partition section 20. The through holes 21 allow urine to pass through but do not allow the granular material 30 to pass through.

[0026] The opening area of ​​each through hole 21 is variable. Here, the opening area refers to the area of ​​the opening portion of each through hole 21 in a plan view. The maximum value of the opening area of ​​each through hole 21 is preferably 2 to 10 times the minimum value of the opening area, and more preferably 3 to 10 times. In addition, the maximum value of the diameter of each through hole 21 is preferably 1 cm to 2 cm, and the minimum value of the diameter of each through hole 21 is preferably 1 mm to 2 mm. Here, the diameter of each through hole 21 is defined as the diameter of the largest circle that can be included in the opening portion of the through hole 21 in a plan view.

[0027] The partition section 20 has a member 22 (first member) and a member 24 (second member). The member 22 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view (see FIG. 6). Here, the substantially rectangular shape is not limited to a rectangular shape, but includes shapes close to a rectangular shape such as a rounded rectangle. The member 22 has a hole 23 (first hole) that constitutes the through hole 21. The member 24 has a plate shape and has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view. The thickness of the member 24 is, for example, 3 mm or more and 10 mm or less. The member 24 has a hole 25 (second hole) that constitutes the through hole 21 together with the hole 23. The member 22 and the member 24 overlap each other. The member 24 overlaps the member 22 so that the hole 25 is located below the hole 23. The member 24 does not protrude from the member 22 in a plan view. The member 24 is smaller than the member 22 in a plan view. That is, the entire member 24 overlaps a part of the member 22.

[0028] The member 24 is displaceable with respect to the member 22 while overlapping the member 22. That is, the member 24 is configured to be able to move relatively with respect to the member 22 within a plane parallel to the plate surface of the member 24. In this embodiment, the member 24 is displaceable only in one direction with respect to the member 22. Specifically, the member 24 is displaceable only in its longitudinal direction (the direction indicated by the arrow in Figs. 6 and 8). That is, the one direction is equal to the longitudinal direction of the member 24.

[0029] The member 22 has a plate-shaped portion 22a and a support portion 22b (see FIG. 7). The plate-shaped portion 22a is a plate-shaped portion in which a hole 23 is formed. The lower surface of the plate-shaped portion 22a faces the upper surface of the member 24. The thickness of the plate-shaped portion 22a is, for example, 3 mm or more and 10 mm or less. The support portion 22b is continuous with the plate-shaped portion 22a and supports the member 24. In detail, the support portion 22b supports the member 24 by covering the side surface of the member 24 to the non-facing surface. Here, the non-facing surface of the member 24 refers to the surface opposite to the surface facing the member 22. In the case of this embodiment, the lower surface of the member 24 is the non-facing surface. However, the support portion 22b covers only the peripheral portion of the member 24 where the hole 25 is not formed so as not to overlap the hole 25. The support portion 22b is hook-shaped (L-shaped in cross section).

[0030] The support portion 22b is connected only to the long side of the long side and the short side of the plate-shaped portion 22a. The support portion 22b is connected to both of the two long sides of the plate-shaped portion 22a. The support portion 22b may be provided on the entirety of each long side of the plate-shaped portion 22a, or may be provided only on a part of each long side. The support portion 22b may be molded integrally with the plate-shaped portion 22a, or may be molded separately from the plate-shaped portion 22a and then attached to the plate-shaped portion 22a. The distance d1 between the plate-shaped portion 22a and the tip of the support portion 22b is designed to be slightly larger than the thickness of the member 24 so that the member 24 can slide in the longitudinal direction while being supported by the support portion 22b.

[0031] The partition 20 has a limiting means for limiting the range of movement of the member 24 relative to the member 22. In this embodiment, the member 22 is provided with a protruding portion 22c as the limiting means (see FIG. 8). The protruding portion 22c is continuous with the plate-shaped portion 22a and protrudes from the edge of the member 22 toward the member 24. The protruding portion 22c is connected only to the short side of the long side and the short side of the plate-shaped portion 22a. The protruding portion 22c is connected to both of the two short sides of the plate-shaped portion 22a. The protruding portion 22c may be provided on the entire short side of the plate-shaped portion 22a, or may be provided only on a part of the short side. The protruding portion 22c may be molded integrally with the plate-shaped portion 22a, or may be molded separately from the plate-shaped portion 22a and then attached to the plate-shaped portion 22a.

[0032] The side surface of the member 24 abuts against the protruding portion 22c, so that the displacement of the member 24 is restricted by the protruding portion 22c. Therefore, the range of motion of the member 24 is limited to the region between the protruding portion 22c provided on one short side of the plate-shaped portion 22a and the protruding portion 22c provided on the other short side. The member 24 does not protrude from the member 22 in a plan view throughout its range of motion.

[0033] 9 and 10 are plan views showing the member 22 and the member 24, respectively. The member 22 has n holes 23 (n is an integer of 2 or more). Here, an example in which n=176 is shown. The member 24 has n holes 25. That is, the number of holes 23 and the number of holes 25 are equal. The planar shape of the holes 23 is a circle. The planar shape of the holes 25 is a circle congruent with the planar shape of the holes 23. In addition, the arrangement pattern of the holes 23 in the member 22 and the arrangement pattern of the holes 25 in the member 24 are the same so that all the holes 23 and all the holes 25 can completely overlap at the same time. These holes 23 and holes 25 form n through holes 21 in the partition section 20.

[0034] In this embodiment, when the side surface of the member 24 (the side surface on the left side in FIG. 8) abuts against one of the protruding portions 22c (the protruding portion 22c on the left side in FIG. 8), the holes 23 and 25 completely overlap, and the opening area of ​​the through hole 21 becomes maximum (see FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 11, when the member 24 is displaced so as to approach the other protruding portion 22c (the protruding portion 22c on the right side in FIG. 8), the holes 23 and 25 partially overlap, and the opening area of ​​the through hole 21 becomes smaller. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, the area of ​​the portion where the holes 23 and 25 overlap in a plan view (the shaded portion) becomes the opening area of ​​the through hole 21.

[0035] 13 and 14, when the side surface of member 24 (the side surface on the right side in FIG. 8) abuts against the other protruding portion 22c, the area of ​​the overlapping portion of hole 23 and hole 25, i.e., the opening area of ​​through hole 21, becomes a minimum. However, even in this case, a part of hole 23 and a part of hole 25 overlap, so the minimum value of the opening area of ​​through hole 21 does not become 0. In this manner, partition portion 20 is configured so that at least a part of hole 23 and at least a part of hole 25 overlap over the entire movable range of member 24.

[0036] The effects of the animal litter box 1 will now be described. In the animal litter box 1, the opening area of ​​the through-holes 21 is variable. In this case, the opening area of ​​the through-holes 21 can be adjusted to match the particle size of the granular material 30 laid on the partition 20. Therefore, by making the opening area of ​​the through-holes 21 as large as possible without allowing the granular material 30 to pass through, it becomes easier to move urine smoothly from the upper space S1 to the lower space S2. Therefore, an animal litter box 1 suitable for moving urine smoothly from the upper space S1 to the lower space S2 is realized.

[0037] To accommodate granular materials 30 of various particle sizes, it is preferable that the size of through hole 21 varies over a wide range. From this viewpoint, the maximum value of the opening area of ​​through hole 21 is preferably at least twice the minimum value of the opening area, and more preferably at least three times. From the same viewpoint, the maximum value of the diameter of through hole 21 is preferably at least 1 cm, and the minimum value of the diameter of through hole 21 is preferably no more than 2 mm.

[0038] The partition section 20 has a member 22 in which a hole 23 is formed, and a member 24 in which a hole 25 is formed that constitutes the through hole 21 together with the hole 23. In this case, the opening area of ​​the through hole 21 is determined by the degree of overlap between the hole 23 and the hole 25. Therefore, the opening area of ​​the through hole 21 can be adjusted by simply displacing the member 24 relative to the member 22.

[0039] The member 24 is displaceable only in one direction relative to the member 22. By limiting the displaceable direction in this manner, the partition section 20 in which the member 24 is displaceable relative to the member 22 can be realized with a simple configuration.

[0040] The one direction is equal to the longitudinal direction of the member 24. Matching the displaceable direction with the side direction (longitudinal or lateral direction) of the member 24 in this manner is also advantageous in simplifying the configuration of the partition section 20.

[0041] The member 24 does not protrude from the member 22 in plan view. In this case, the gap between the member 22 and the side surface portion 10b of the main body portion 10 can be made small, making it difficult for the granular material 30 to become caught in the gap. In contrast, if the member 24 protrudes from the member 22 in plan view, a large gap must be secured between the member 22 and the side surface portion 10b so that the protruding portion of the member 24 fits within the main body portion 10. This makes it easier for the granular material 30 to become caught in the gap.

[0042] The member 24 is smaller than the member 22 in a plan view. This makes it possible to ensure the range of motion of the member 24 while preventing the member 24 from protruding from the member 22.

[0043] In addition to the plate-like portion 22a, the member 22 has a support portion 22b that supports the member 24. This makes it possible to maintain the state in which the member 24 overlaps the member 22 without using other members (members other than the member 22 and the member 24).

[0044] The support portion 22b supports the member 24 by covering from the side surface to the non-opposing surface of the member 24. This makes it possible to realize the support portion 22b that supports the member 24 with a simple configuration.

[0045] The partition 20 has a limiting means for limiting the range of movement of the member 24 relative to the member 22. This makes it possible to prevent the member 24 from being displaced more than necessary relative to the member 22, making it easier to adjust the opening area of ​​the through hole 21.

[0046] The limiting means is a protruding portion 22c that protrudes from an edge portion of the member 22 toward the member 24. This makes it possible to realize the limiting means that limits the range of motion of the member 24 with a simple configuration.

[0047] There are n holes 23 and n holes 25, constituting n through holes 21. When holes 23 and holes 25 correspond one-to-one in this way, the arrangement patterns of both can be made the same. This contributes to reducing the manufacturing costs of the partition 20 and therefore the animal litter box 1.

[0048] The partition portion 20 is not fixed to the main body portion 10. In this case, the partition portion 20 can be easily attached to and detached from the main body portion 10. Therefore, the task of removing the partition portion 20 from the main body portion 10 and adjusting the opening area of ​​the through hole 21 can be easily performed.

[0049] The partition section 20 is placed on the protruding section 10c. This allows the partition section 20 to be held in a predetermined position within the main body section 10 without being fixed to the main body section 10.

[0050] The inside of the main body 10 is divided into upper and lower parts by a partition 20, and the multiple granular materials 30 are disposed on the partition 20. This makes it possible to distinguish between the space in which the granular materials 30 are disposed (upper space S1) and the space in which urine accumulates (lower space S2). This makes it possible to prevent the granular materials 30 from coming into contact with urine that has accumulated in the main body 10 (including urine absorbed by the absorbent sheet 40).

[0051] When granular materials 30 having a large particle size (a particle size larger than 15 mm) are used, an animal litter box 1 in which the opening area of ​​the through-holes 21 can be made sufficiently large becomes particularly useful.

[0052] A water-absorbent sheet 40 is disposed below the partition 20. This allows urine accumulated in the main body 10 to be trapped within the water-absorbent sheet 40. This makes it possible to reduce the generation of bad odors caused by urine accumulated in the main body 10.

[0053] The animal litter box 1 is provided with a drawer section 14 that can be inserted into and removed from the main body section 10. This makes it easy to replace a used water-absorbent sheet 40 with a new one.

[0054] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. In the above embodiment, the partition 20 may have a fixing means for temporarily fixing the member 24 to the member 22. As the fixing means, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, a fastener 26 can be used. In this example, the fastener 26 is a bolt. In the figure, a hole through which the bolt passes is provided in the support portion 22b of the member 22. A female thread is formed on the inner surface of the hole to be screwed into the male thread of the bolt. By tightening the bolt and pressing the tip of the bolt against the side surface of the member 24, the member 24 can be fixed at any position relative to the member 22. In addition, the fixed state can be released by loosening the bolt and moving the tip of the bolt away from the side surface of the member 24. It is preferable that the fastener 26 can be tightened and loosened by hand without using a tool such as a wrench. By providing such a fixing means, it is possible to prevent the member 24 from being unexpectedly displaced when the animal litter box 1 is used. In addition, by using the fastener 26 as the fixing means, the fixing means can be realized with a simple configuration.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the member 24 is displaceable only in its longitudinal direction. However, the member 24 may be displaceable only in its lateral direction. In this case, the support portion 22b is connected to the short side of the plate-shaped portion 22a. The protruding portion 22c is connected to the long side of the plate-shaped portion 22a.

[0056] In the above embodiment, the planar shape of the hole 23 is circular. However, the planar shape of the hole 23 may be any shape, for example, a polygon such as a rectangle, or an ellipse. The same applies to the hole 25.

[0057] In the above embodiment, the case where the pull-out portion 14 is provided has been exemplified. However, it is not essential to provide the pull-out portion 14. When the pull-out portion 14 is not provided, the water-absorbent sheet 40 is disposed directly on the bottom surface portion 10a. In that case, naturally, the opening 12 is not provided in the side surface portion 10b.

[0058] In the above embodiment, the case where the water-absorbent sheet 40 is disposed inside the main body portion 10 has been exemplified. However, it is not essential to dispose the water-absorbent sheet 40 inside the main body portion 10. If the water-absorbent sheet 40 is not disposed, the drawer portion 14 is not provided either. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1. Animal toilet 10 Main body 10a Bottom part 10b Side part 10c overhang 12 aperture 14 Drawer section 15 Handle 20 Partition 21 Through hole 22 Component (first component) 22a Plate-shaped part 22b Support part 22c Protrusion (Limiting means) 23 holes (first hole) 24 Component (Second Component) 25 holes (second hole) 26 Fasteners (fixing means) 30 Granules 40 Water-absorbent sheet S1 upper space S2 lower space

Claims

1. A box-shaped main body having a bottom surface and a side surface; A partition portion having a through hole for passing urine therethrough and dividing the inside of the main body into upper and lower portions, The opening area of ​​the through hole is variable, the partition portion has a first member having a first hole formed therein and a second member having a second hole formed therein, the second hole constituting the through hole together with the first hole; The animal litter box according to claim 1, wherein the second member is displaceable relative to the first member while overlapping the first member.

2. The animal litter box according to claim 1, An animal litter box, wherein the maximum opening area of ​​the through holes is at least twice the minimum opening area of ​​the through holes.

3. The animal litter box according to claim 2, An animal litter box, wherein the maximum opening area of ​​the through holes is three times or more the minimum opening area of ​​the through holes.

4. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The animal litter box according to claim 1, wherein the maximum diameter of the through holes is 1 cm or more.

5. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The animal litter box, wherein the minimum diameter of the through holes is 2 mm or less.

6. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The animal litter box, wherein the second member is displaceable in only one direction relative to the first member.

7. The animal litter box according to claim 6, The second member has a generally rectangular shape in a plan view, An animal litter box, wherein the one direction is equal to the longitudinal direction or the transverse direction of the second member.

8. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The animal litter box, wherein the second member overlaps the first member such that the second hole is located below the first hole.

9. The animal litter box according to claim 8, The animal litter box has a second member that does not protrude beyond the first member in a plan view.

10. The animal litter box according to claim 9, The animal litter box has a second member that is smaller than the first member in a plan view.

11. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The first member includes: a plate-shaped portion in which the first hole is formed; An animal litter box having a support portion that is continuous with the plate-shaped portion and supports the second member.

12. The animal litter box according to claim 11, the second member has a non-facing surface that is a surface opposite to a surface facing the first member, The support portion supports the second member by covering the side surface of the second member and the non-opposing surface of the second member.

13. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 12, The partition portion has a limiting means for limiting the range of movement of the second member relative to the first member.

14. The animal litter box according to claim 13, The limiting means is a protrusion that protrudes from the edge of the first member toward the second member.

15. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 14, The partition portion has a fixing means for temporarily fixing the second member to the first member.

16. The animal litter box according to claim 15, The fixing means is a fastener.

17. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 16, The partition portion has n (n is an integer of 2 or more) through holes, the first member has the n number of the first holes, The second member has the n number of second holes.

18. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 17, The partition portion is not fixed to the main body portion.

19. The animal litter box according to claim 18, The main body portion has a protruding portion provided so as to protrude from the side surface portion to the inside of the main body portion, The partition portion is placed on the protruding portion of the animal litter box.

20. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 19, The animal litter box is provided with a plurality of water-repellent granular bodies arranged on the partition.

21. The animal litter box according to claim 20, The particle size of each of the granular bodies is greater than 15 mm.

22. The animal litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 21, The animal litter box further comprises an absorbent sheet disposed below the partition and configured to absorb the urine that has passed through the through-holes.

23. The animal litter box according to claim 22, A drawer portion is provided in which the absorbent sheet is housed, An opening is formed in the side surface of the main body, The animal litter box includes a drawer portion that can be inserted into and removed from the main body portion through the opening.

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