Pet toilet and method for discharging treated urine in a pet toilet

Abstract

To provide a pet toilet which can reduce the burden on an owner, can be left for a long time, and can have a smaller height dimension than one using litter. [Solution] A pet toilet (1) comprising a plate-shaped scaffolding member (3) with a passage hole formed to allow pet urine to pass through, and a tank arranged below the scaffolding member (3) for collecting urine that has passed through the passage hole (31); no litter is placed on the upper surface of the scaffolding member (3); the tank has a recess capable of storing liquid, and a plate-shaped blocking portion that blocks the opening of the recess and receives urine that has passed through the passage hole (31) of the scaffolding member (3) on its upper surface; a collection hole is formed in the blocking portion to allow urine received on its upper surface to flow into the tank; the upper surface of the blocking portion slopes downward from below the passage hole (31) to the collection hole, and is equipped with a urine treatment liquid that is stored in the recess of the tank and treats urine that has flowed in from the collection hole.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the increasing demand for pets, the opportunities for keeping pets indoors have been increasing. Especially in urban areas, it is becoming the mainstream to keep pets indoors rather than outdoors. When keeping a pet indoors, the pet's toilet becomes a problem.

[0003] As a toilet for pets, a toilet body with a through-hole in the center and a middle lid tapered downward toward the through-hole is fitted, and a toilet body with a bottom made of a fine mesh-like net body and toilet sand stored on the net body is fitted above the middle lid. It has been proposed to be fitted above a storage container (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this pet toilet, urine does not stop on the toilet body, toilet sand, middle lid, etc., and the urine flowing down from the through-hole of the middle lid is stored in the storage container.

[0004] Also, as a toilet for pets, a urine drainage tray having a toilet sand holding substrate with a large number of small holes as the bottom wall, a liquid collecting funnel disposed below the urine drainage tray for collecting urine that falls through the small holes of the toilet sand holding substrate and discharging the collected urine, and a urine storage container disposed below the liquid collecting funnel and having a mouth portion for receiving the liquid from the drain pipe of the liquid collecting funnel have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2). According to this pet toilet, the urine collected by the liquid collecting funnel is stored in the urine storage container through a drain pipe inserted into the mouth portion of the urine storage container, and the peripheral portion of the urine storage container is not soiled with urine. Further, the urine storage container has only the mouth portion open, and not only is the open surface from which the odor is emitted extremely small, but also the upper portion thereof is covered by the liquid collecting funnel. Therefore, by using toilet sand with excellent deodorizing properties as the toilet sand placed on the urine drainage tray, it is said that bad odors such as ammonia collection can be deodorized.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-89769 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-149372 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] However, the pet toilets described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 require that the bottom of the mesh or urine collection tray be kept covered with litter in order to prevent odors from escaping from the storage container or urine collection container. Therefore, pet owners must constantly monitor the litter, which places a heavy burden on them. In addition, because the litter needs to be replaced regularly, the toilet cannot be left unattended for long periods of time, which restricts the owner's time. Furthermore, there is the problem that the height of the pet toilet increases due to the amount of litter that is laid out.

[0007] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a pet toilet that can reduce the burden on pet owners, can be left unattended for a long time, and has a smaller height than those that use litter. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention provides a pet toilet comprising a plate-shaped scaffolding member having a passage hole for passing pet urine through, and a tank positioned below the scaffolding member to collect the urine that has passed through the passage hole, wherein no toilet sand is placed on the upper surface of the scaffolding member, and the tank has a recess capable of storing liquid and a plate-shaped closing portion that closes the opening of the recess and receives the urine that has passed through the passage hole of the scaffolding member on its upper surface, the closing portion has a collection hole formed therein for the urine received on its upper surface to flow into the tank, the upper surface of the closing portion is inclined downward from below the passage hole to the collection hole toward the collection hole, and the pet toilet is provided with a urine treatment liquid that is stored in the recess of the tank and treats the urine that flows in from the collection hole.

[0009] In the above-described pet toilet, the tank may have a gripping portion for the operator to hold, a maintenance hole formed separately from the collection hole for draining the liquid inside, and an opening / closing portion that can open and close the maintenance hole.

[0010] In the above-described pet toilet, the tank is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having four side walls, a bottom wall, and a top wall, the gripping portion is provided on the horizontal center side of one of the four side walls, and the maintenance hole may be located on one end of the tank in the direction in which the gripping portion is provided, and on the end side of the side wall in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the side wall is provided.

[0011] In the above-described pet toilet, the tank has a splash prevention section for preventing the liquid inside the tank from splashing, and the splash prevention section may include a substantially horizontal plate-shaped prevention section body that overlaps with the collection hole in a plan view, a surrounding wall that extends upward from the periphery of the prevention section body opposite to the maintenance hole in the direction of extension of the side wall on which the gripping section is provided, and connects to the closing section, surrounding the upper part of the prevention section body from the opposite side of the maintenance hole, and an opening formed between the circumferential ends of the surrounding wall and extending upward from the periphery of the prevention section body on the maintenance hole side in the direction of extension of the side wall on which the gripping section is provided.

[0012] In the above-described pet toilet, the surrounding wall may surround the side of the side wall on which the gripping portion is provided, above the main body of the prevention portion, on the side with the gripping portion and on the side opposite to the gripping portion, in the direction of extension of the side wall on which the gripping portion is provided.

[0013] In the above-described pet toilet, the tank may have a flange portion extending downward from below the opening on the periphery of the main body of the prevention unit.

[0014] In the above-described pet toilet, the tank may have a constricted wall that extends downward from the closed portion and whose lower end forms the upper end of the opening.

[0015] In the above-described pet toilet, the collection hole may be formed on the side of the upper wall that is closer to the gripping portion than the center of the upper wall, in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the side wall on which the gripping portion is provided.

[0016] In the above-described pet toilet, the collection hole may be formed on the opposite side of the maintenance hole from the center of the upper wall, with respect to the direction of extension of the side wall on which the gripping portion is provided.

[0017] In the above-described pet toilet, when the standard capacity is defined as the volume at which the liquid in the tank reaches a level that coincides with the lower surface of the main body of the prevention unit, the liquid level of the standard capacity in the tank may be lower than the recovery hole when the tank is held in a gripping position with the side wall on which the gripping unit is provided facing upwards.

[0018] In the above-described pet toilet, when the tank is tilted downward from the gripping position towards the maintenance hole, and the water level of the standard volume of liquid reaches the maintenance hole, the water level of the standard volume of liquid in the tank may be lower than that of the recovery hole.

[0019] In the above-mentioned pet toilet, the urine treatment liquid may contain an acid that reacts with ammonia.

[0020] In the above-mentioned toilet for pets, the urine treatment liquid may contain a surfactant that kills microorganisms.

Effects of the Invention

[0021] According to the toilet for pets of the present invention, the burden on the owner can be reduced, it can be left unattended for a long time, and the height dimension can be made smaller than that of those using toilet sand.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] [Figure 1] It is a perspective view of a toilet for pets showing a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a perspective view of a toilet for pets showing a state where the front opening of the case is open. [Figure 3] It is an exploded perspective view of a toilet for pets. [Figure 4] It is a plan view of the tank. [Figure 5] It is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] It is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 4. [Figure 7] It is a sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 4. [Figure 8] It is a plane explanatory view showing the water level of the reference capacity liquid when the posture of the tank changes. [Figure 9] It is a perspective view of a toilet for pets showing a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] It is a perspective view of a toilet for pets showing a state where the front opening of the case is open. [Figure 11] It is an exploded perspective view of a toilet for pets. [Figure 12] It is a plan view of the tank. [Figure 13] It is a front sectional view of the tank. [Figure 14] It is a perspective view of a toilet for pets with the installation position of the cover changed.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] Figures 1 to 8 show a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the pet toilet, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the pet toilet with the front opening of the case open, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the pet toilet, Figure 4 is a plan view of the tank, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view AA of Figure 4, Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view BB of Figure 4, Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view AA of Figure 4, and Figure 8 is a plan explanatory diagram showing the liquid level of the standard capacity when the orientation of the tank changes.

[0024] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, this pet toilet 1 comprises a case 2 with an open top, a platform member 3 placed inside the case 2 for the pet to relieve itself, and a tank 4 placed inside the case 2 to store the urine released by the pet. In this embodiment, the case 2 is formed in a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open top, and the platform member 3 is provided so as to substantially close the upper opening of the case 2. The tank 4 is also placed below the platform member 3 inside the case 2. No toilet litter is placed on the upper surface of the platform member 3, and the urine released by the pet is treated exclusively by the urine treatment liquid 6 (see Figures 5, 6, 7, etc.) in the tank 4.

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, the case 2 is made of, for example, plastic and has a front wall 21, a right side wall 22, a rear wall 23, a left side wall 24, and a bottom wall 25, and together with a scaffolding member 3 that closes the upper opening, it has a substantially box-like shape. As shown in Figure 2, the front wall 21 opens and closes the front opening 1a formed by the right side wall 22, the bottom wall 25, the left side wall 24, and the scaffolding member 3. In this embodiment, the front wall 21 has a pair of flange portions 21a that extend rearward from both the left and right ends, and as shown in Figure 3, each flange portion 21a has a pivot portion 21b that is pivotally supported by the right side wall 22 and the left side wall 24. That is, the front wall 21 is rotatable relative to the right side wall 22 and the left side wall 24, and as shown in Figure 2, the front opening 1a can be opened to allow the tank 4 to be inserted into and removed from the case 2.

[0026] The scaffolding member 3 is made of, for example, plastic and has a flat portion 32 with through holes 31 formed therein for allowing pet urine to pass through, and a lower projection 33 formed on the outer edge side of the lower surface of the flat portion 32 and projecting downward. The flat portion 32 is formed in the shape of a flat plate of a predetermined thickness, and a plurality of through holes 31 are formed on the central side. In this embodiment, the central side of the flat portion 32 is formed in a mesh shape, and each through hole 31 is square in shape when viewed from above and is arranged in alignment in the front, back, left, and right directions. The lower projection 33 is formed around the entire circumference of the flat portion 32 and comes into contact with the upper surface of the tank 4.

[0027] Tank 4 is made of, for example, plastic and collects urine that has passed through the passage holes 31 of the scaffolding member 3. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, Tank 4 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having four side walls, a bottom wall and a top wall. Specifically, Tank 4 has four side walls: a front wall 41, a right side wall 42, a rear wall 43 and a left side wall 44, a bottom wall 45 and a top wall 46. In this embodiment, the front wall 41, the right side wall 42, the rear wall 43, the left side wall 44 and the bottom wall 45 form recesses capable of storing liquid, and the top wall 46 forms a plate-shaped closing part that closes the openings of the recesses.

[0028] The upper wall 46 has a collection hole 4a that receives urine that has passed through the passage hole 31 of the scaffolding member 3 on its upper surface and allows the urine to flow into the tank 4. As shown in Figure 4, the collection hole 4a is offset from the center of the upper wall 46 in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions and is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view. In this embodiment, the upper wall 46 is formed with an inclination that slopes downward from the outer edge toward the center. That is, the upper surface of the upper wall 46 slopes downward from below the passage hole 31 toward the collection hole 4a.

[0029] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, the tank 4 has a gripping portion 4b for the operator to grasp, a maintenance hole 4c formed separately from the recovery hole 4a for discharging the internal liquid, and a lid 49 that serves as an opening and closing part for opening and closing the maintenance hole 4c. In this embodiment, the gripping portion 4b is provided on the horizontal center side of the front wall 41. The maintenance hole 4c is located on the right end side of the tank in the direction of extension of the front wall 41 where the gripping portion 4b is provided (left-right direction), and on the front end side in the direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the front wall 41 (front-back direction). In this embodiment, an inclined surface 48 with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with the corners cut off is formed at the meeting point of the front wall 41 and the right side wall 42 of the tank 4, and the maintenance hole 4c is located on this inclined surface 48.

[0030] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the tank 4 has a splash prevention section 47 to prevent the liquid inside the tank 4 from splashing. The splash prevention section 47 includes a substantially horizontal plate-shaped prevention section body 47a that overlaps with the recovery hole 4a in a plan view, surrounding walls 47b and 47c that extend upward from the periphery of the prevention section body 47a opposite to the maintenance hole 4c in the left-right direction and are connected to an upper wall 46, surrounding the top of the prevention section body 47a from the opposite side of the maintenance hole 47c, and an opening 47d formed between the circumferential ends of the surrounding walls 47b and 47c and extending upward from the periphery of the prevention section body on the maintenance hole 47c side in the left-right direction. In this embodiment, the surrounding walls 47b and 47c consist of a left surrounding wall 47b that extends upward from the left end of the prevention unit body 47a and connects to the upper wall 46, and a pair of front and rear surrounding walls 47c that extend upward from both the front and rear ends of the prevention unit body 47a and connect to the upper wall 46. That is, as shown in Figure 5, each front and rear surrounding wall 47c surrounds the upper gripping portion 4b side (front side) and the opposite side (rear side) of the prevention unit body 47a in the front-rear direction. Also, as shown in Figure 7, the tank 4 has a flange portion 47e that extends downward from the lower side of the opening 47d on the periphery of the prevention unit body 47a, and a constricted wall 47f that extends downward from the upper wall 46 and whose lower end forms the upper end of the opening 47d. The flange portion 47d prevents liquid splashing near the main body 47a from entering the recovery hole 4a, and the narrowing wall 47f also narrows the opening 47d, thereby further preventing liquid from entering the recovery hole 4a.

[0031] As shown in Figure 6, the gripping portion 4b is composed of a recess 4b1 formed in the front wall 41 that is recessed to the rear, a front wall 4b2 extending downward from the front end of the upper wall 46, and a return portion 4b3 extending to the rear from the front wall 4b2. In this embodiment, the recess 4b1 is formed in the front wall 41 from top to bottom. The front wall 4b2 is formed with a gap between it and the recess 4b1 in the front and rear directions.

[0032] As shown in Figure 4, the recovery hole 4a is formed on the gripping portion 4b side (front side) of the center of the upper wall 46 in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the front wall 41 on which the gripping portion 4b is provided (front-to-back direction). In addition, the recovery hole 4a is formed on the opposite side (left side) of the center of the upper wall 46 from the maintenance hole 4c in the extending direction of the front wall 41 on which the gripping portion 4b is provided (left-to-right direction).

[0033] In this embodiment, the position of the recovery hole 4a is set considering the gripping position when the tank 4 is gripped, the discharge position when the liquid in the tank 4 is discharged, and the placement position when the tank 4 is placed in a predetermined location with the right side wall 42 facing downwards. As shown in Figure 7, the standard capacity is defined as the volume at which the liquid in the tank 4 reaches a water level L1 that coincides with the lower surface of the prevention unit body 47a. As shown in Figure 8, when the tank 4 is in the gripping position with the front wall 41 on which the gripping unit 4b is provided facing upwards, the position of the recovery hole 4a is set such that the water level L2 of the standard capacity liquid in the tank 4 is lower than the recovery hole 4a. Furthermore, when the tank 4 is tilted downwards from the gripping position towards the maintenance hole 4c side, and the discharge position is adopted where the water level L3 of the standard capacity liquid reaches the maintenance hole 4c, the position of the recovery hole 4a is set such that the water level L3 of the standard capacity liquid in the tank 4 is lower than the recovery hole 4a. Furthermore, when the tank 4 is placed in a designated position with its right side wall 42 facing downwards, the position of the recovery hole 4a is set such that the water level L3 of the standard volume of liquid inside the tank 4 is lower than the recovery hole 4a.

[0034] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 7, the tank 4 has a urine treatment liquid 6 stored inside for treating urine. The urine treatment liquid 6 uses water as the solvent, and as a solute, it uses an acid that reacts with ammonia and a surfactant that kills microorganisms. In this embodiment, tartaric acid is used as the acid in the urine treatment liquid 6, and benzalkonium chloride is used as the surfactant in the urine treatment liquid 6. The capacity of the tank 4 is arbitrary, but for example, the aforementioned standard capacity can be set to 5 liters or more and 20 liters or less. By making the tank 4 capable of storing 5 liters or more of liquid, it can handle about one week's worth of urine from a small dog, and by setting the capacity of the tank 4 to 20 liters or less, the tank 4 can be made more compact, allowing for a smaller pet toilet 1.

[0035] With the pet toilet 1 configured as described above, when a pet relieves itself on the scaffolding member 3, the released urine falls downwards through each passage hole 31. The urine that falls downwards through the scaffolding member 3 is received on the upper surface of the upper wall 46 of the tank 4, then guided along the inclined portion of the upper surface to the collection hole 4a, and flows into the tank 4 from the collection hole 4a. The urine that flows into the tank 4 is treated with urine treatment liquid 6 and stored in the tank 4.

[0036] In this embodiment, the tartaric acid contained in the urine treatment liquid 6 neutralizes the ammonia in the urine, converting it to ammonium tartrate. As a result, the ammonia in the urine disappears immediately after it flows into the tank 4, and the tank 4 is not filled with an unpleasant odor caused by ammonia. In addition, the benzalkonium chloride contained in the urine treatment liquid 6 kills microorganisms in the urine. As a result, the urea in the urine is not broken down into ammonia by microorganisms, and the generation of ammonia in the tank 4 is suppressed. Furthermore, components other than urea in the urine are not broken down by microorganisms. Therefore, even if urine is stored in the tank 4 for a long period of time, urea and other components will not be broken down and unpleasant odors will not be generated.

[0037] Here, the concentrations of tartaric acid and benzalkonium chloride in the urine treatment solution 6 decrease as urine flows into the tank 4, from the initial concentration stored in the tank 4, due to consumption and dilution. The concentrations of tartaric acid and benzalkonium chloride in the urine treatment solution 6 are arbitrary, but they must be set so that the urine treatment effect is maintained when urine flows into the tank 4 and the liquid in the tank 4 reaches the aforementioned standard volume. For example, if the tartaric acid concentration is maintained at 0.05% by weight or more and the benzalkonium chloride concentration at 0.05% by weight or more, the urine treatment effect can be maintained. Therefore, it is desirable to determine the amount of urine treatment solution 6 initially stored in the tank 4 by considering the consumption and dilution rate of tartaric acid and benzalkonium chloride until the standard volume is reached. For example, the initial concentrations of tartaric acid and benzalkonium chloride in the urine treatment solution 6 can be set to 2.0% by weight or more and 10.0% by weight or less, respectively. Alternatively, the initial amount of urine treatment solution 6 can be set to 50cc to 1000cc. By limiting the concentration of benzalkonium chloride to 10.0% by weight or less, the product can be made relatively safe for human use. Furthermore, by limiting the concentration of tartaric acid to 10.0% by weight or less, the odor of tartaric acid can be suppressed to a level that people near the toilet will not notice.

[0038] Thus, since the urine released from the pet is collected in the tank 4 and treated with the urine treatment liquid 6, no unpleasant odor caused by the urine will occur as long as all of the urine treatment liquid 6 in the tank 4 is consumed. Therefore, as in the conventional method, it is not necessary to maintain a state where toilet sand is spread on the scaffolding member 3 to prevent odor, and the burden of monitoring the pet's toilet 1 on the owner can be reduced. Furthermore, once the urine treatment solution 6 is refilled in tank 4, pet urine can be treated for an extended period. Therefore, there is no need to regularly change the litter as in conventional systems, and it can be left unattended for long periods, relieving pet owners of stress. Furthermore, unlike conventional designs, there is no need to spread cat litter on the scaffolding members 3. By omitting the cat litter, the height dimension of the pet toilet 1 can be reduced by the amount of cat litter that would otherwise be used, thus making the pet toilet 1 more compact.

[0039] Furthermore, since the urine treatment liquid 6 is a liquid, the surfactant and acid in the urine treatment liquid 6 can be consumed uniformly and reliably. In contrast, in a configuration where solid urine treatment material is placed in the tank 4, the urine treatment material near the inlet is consumed first, resulting in uneven consumption of the urine treatment material in the tank 4, and making it impossible to stably exhibit deodorizing performance. Moreover, in a configuration where solid urine treatment material is placed in the tank 4, if the amount of surfactant and acid in the urine treatment material is increased to prevent the urine treatment function from being impaired over a long period of time, more surfactant and acid than necessary will dissolve in the small amount of urine immediately after use. As a result, the concentration of surfactant and acid in the liquid in the tank 4 becomes extremely high, which is very dangerous as it may adversely affect the human body during the liquid discharge process. In the pet toilet 1 of this embodiment, since surfactant and acid are consumed as urine is treated, the concentration of surfactant and acid in the urine treatment liquid decreases over time. Therefore, if the concentrations of surfactants and acids in the urine treatment solution 6 at the start of use are set to levels safe for the human body, these concentrations will not exceed this level during use, and there will be no risk of adverse effects on the human body during the discharge of the liquid from the tank 4.

[0040] Furthermore, since the recess where the liquid is stored in the tank 4 is closed by the upper wall 46, the urine treatment liquid 6 stored in the tank 4 will not be scattered into the surroundings. In particular, according to this embodiment, even if the tank 4 is subjected to vibration or tilted due to moving the pet toilet 1, the splash prevention part 47 located inside the tank 4 prevents the liquid inside the tank 4 from being scattered to the outside of the recovery hole 4a.

[0041] Furthermore, the user of the pet toilet 1 can remove the lid 49 and open the maintenance hole 4c to discharge the treated urine through the maintenance hole 4c. To discharge the urine, the worker first opens the front wall 21 as shown in Figure 2, slides the tank 4 forward using the gripping part 4b, and removes the tank 4 from the case 2. Then, using the gripping part 4b, the worker grasps the tank 4 and carries it to a place where urine can be discharged, such as a toilet in a house. At this time, the posture of the tank 4 changes from the basic posture with the top wall 46 facing upward to the gripping posture with the front wall 41 facing upward, and accordingly, the liquid inside the tank 4 also moves mainly from the bottom wall 45 side to the rear wall 43 side. Although the liquid inside the tank 4 moves mainly in the front-to-back and up-and-down directions relative to the recovery hole 4a, the main body of the prevention unit 47a is located directly below the recovery hole 4a, and the front and rear of the main body of the prevention unit 47a are covered by the front and rear surrounding walls 47c, so splashing of liquid toward the recovery hole 4a can be effectively prevented. Furthermore, in the gripping position, the liquid level L2 of the standard capacity inside the tank 4 is lower than the recovery hole 4a, so urine inside the tank 4 does not leak out to the outside through the recovery hole 4a when the tank 4 is transported.

[0042] Furthermore, when the tank is tilted downwards from the gripping position towards the maintenance hole 4c, and in the discharge position where the liquid level L3 of the standard capacity reaches the maintenance hole 4c, the liquid level L3 of the standard capacity in the tank 4 is lower than the recovery hole 4a, so when urine is discharged, the urine in the tank 4 does not flow out to the outside through the recovery hole 4a. Moreover, even when the tank 4 is placed in a designated location with the right side wall 42 facing downwards, the liquid level L3 of the standard capacity in the tank 4 is lower than the recovery hole 4a, so the urine in the tank 4 does not flow out to the outside through the recovery hole 4a. As a result, for example, even when an operator temporarily places the tank 4 in a designated location before performing urine discharge work, the urine in the tank 4 does not flow out to the outside through the recovery hole 4a. Furthermore, even if, by any chance, urine from inside the tank 4 enters the main body 47a of the prevention unit through the opening 4d due to vibrations when the worker places the tank 4 in the designated location, the opening 4d is formed on the maintenance hole 4c side, so the urine on the main body 47a of the prevention unit will quickly fall back into the tank 4 through the opening 4d.

[0043] In the above embodiment, tartaric acid was used as the acid that reacts with ammonia in the urine treatment liquid 6, but other acids such as citric acid may be used. Also, in the embodiment, benzalkonium chloride was used as the surfactant that kills microorganisms in the urine treatment liquid 6, but other surfactants such as quaternary ammonium salts may be used. Furthermore, although the urine treatment liquid 6 is shown to contain both an acid and a surfactant, it may contain only one of them. Moreover, the urine treatment liquid 6 may also be a liquid containing aromatic components other than an acid and a surfactant.

[0044] Furthermore, the pet toilet 1 of the above embodiment may be provided with a notification means to inform the owner or other person when the liquid in the tank 4 has reached the aforementioned standard capacity. For example, the notification means may consist of a floater placed inside the tank 4 that moves up and down according to the liquid level, and a column that guides the floater up and down and connects the bottom wall 45 and the top wall 46 of the tank 4. The tank 4 may be made of translucent plastic, and the upper part of the floater may be colored in a different color from the tank 4, so that when the liquid in the tank 4 reaches a water level L1 that matches the lower surface of the prevention unit body 47a, the upper part of the floater comes into contact with the top wall 46. For example, the floater has a body whose upper part is colored in a different color from the tank 4, and an engaging part provided on the body that engages with the column. In this case, the color of the upper part of the floater will stand out on the top wall 46 of the tank 4, allowing the owner or other person to know that the liquid in the tank 4 has reached the aforementioned standard capacity. Here, the placement of the floater and column is arbitrary, but considering the visibility of the floater's color from the outside, it is desirable to place them near the center of the tank 4 in both the front-to-back and left-to-right directions. Furthermore, by placing the column in the center in a plan view, the rigidity and strength of the tank 4 can also be effectively improved.

[0045] Furthermore, although the above embodiment shows the tank 4 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, the shape can be changed as appropriate, as long as it includes a recess capable of storing liquid and a plate-shaped closing part that closes the opening of the recess and receives urine that has passed through the passage hole of the scaffolding member on its upper surface. In addition, the specific configurations of the gripping part 4b, maintenance hole 4c, and splash prevention part 47 of the tank 4 can also be changed as desired, and it is also possible to omit some or all of these.

[0046] Figures 9 to 14 show one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 is a perspective view of the pet toilet, Figure 10 is a perspective view of the pet toilet with the front opening of the case open, Figure 11 is an exploded perspective view of the pet toilet, Figure 12 is a plan view of the tank, Figure 13 is a front cross-sectional view of the tank, and Figure 14 is a perspective view of the pet toilet with the cover installed in a different position.

[0047] As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the pet toilet 101 comprises a case 102 with an open top, a platform member 103 placed inside the case 102 for the pet to relieve itself, a tank 104 placed inside the case 102 to store urine released from the pet, and a cover 5 extending upward from a part of the outer edge of the platform member 103. In this embodiment, the case 102 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open top, and the platform member 103 is provided so as to substantially close the upper opening of the case 102. The tank 104 is placed below the platform member 103 inside the case 102. No toilet sand is placed on the upper surface of the platform member 103, and the urine released from the pet is treated exclusively in the urine treatment liquid 6 (see Figure 13) in the tank 104.

[0048] As shown in Figure 11, the case 102 is made of plastic, for example, and has a front wall 121, a right side wall 22, a rear wall 23, a left side wall 24, and a bottom wall 25, and together with a scaffolding member 103 that closes the upper opening, it has a substantially box-like shape. As shown in Figure 10, the front wall 121 opens and closes the front opening 1a formed by the right side wall 22, the bottom wall 25, the left side wall 24, and the scaffolding member 103. In this embodiment, the front wall 121 has a pair of flange portions 121a that extend rearward from both the left and right ends, and as shown in Figure 12, each flange portion 121a has a pivot support portion 21b that is pivotally supported by the right side wall 22 and the left side wall 24. The front wall 121 and flange portion 121a in this embodiment are formed to be longer upward than the front wall 21 and flange portion 21a in the previous embodiment. The front wall 121 is rotatable relative to the right wall 22 and the left wall 24, and as shown in Figure 10, the front opening 1a can be opened to allow the tank 104 to be inserted into and removed from the case 102.

[0049] The scaffolding member 103 is made of plastic, for example, and has a flat portion 32 with a passage hole 31 for passing pet urine through it, a lower projection 33 formed on the outer edge of the lower surface of the flat portion 32 and projecting downward, and an upper projection 134 formed on the outer edge of the upper surface of the flat portion 32 and projecting upward. The scaffolding member 103 of this embodiment differs from the scaffolding member 3 of the above embodiment in that it has an upper projection 134.

[0050] The tank 104 is made of, for example, plastic and collects urine that has passed through the passage holes 31 of the scaffolding member 103. As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the tank 104 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and has a front wall 41, a right side wall 42, a rear wall 43, a left side wall 44, a bottom wall 45, and an upper wall 146. In this embodiment, the front wall 41, the right side wall 42, the rear wall 43, the left side wall 44, and the bottom wall 45 form recesses capable of storing liquid, and the upper wall 146 forms a plate-shaped closing portion that closes the openings of the recesses.

[0051] The upper wall 146 has a collection hole 104a that receives the urine that has passed through the passage hole 31 of the scaffolding member 103 on its upper surface and allows the urine to flow into the tank 104. As shown in Figure 12, the collection hole 104a is located in the center of the upper wall 146 in the front, back, left, and right directions and is formed in a square shape in plan view. In this embodiment, the position of the collection hole 104a is different from that of the collection hole 4a in the previous embodiment. In this embodiment as well, the upper wall 146 is formed to slope downward from the outer edge toward the center in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions. That is, the upper surface of the upper wall 146 slopes downward toward the collection hole 104a from below the passage hole 31 to the collection hole 104a.

[0052] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 12, the tank 104 has a maintenance hole 104c for draining the liquid inside, which is formed separately from the recovery hole 104a. In this embodiment, an inclined surface 148 with a rectangular parallelepiped shape is formed at the meeting point of the front wall 41, the right side wall 42, and the top wall 46 of the tank 104, and the maintenance hole 104c is located on this inclined surface 148. The tank 104 also has a removable lid 149 that closes the maintenance hole 104c. In this embodiment, the lid 149 is an opening and closing part that can open and close the maintenance hole 104c.

[0053] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 12, the tank 104 has a splash prevention section 147 to prevent the liquid inside the tank 104 from splashing. The splash prevention section 147 has a substantially horizontal plate-shaped prevention section body 147a formed directly below the recovery hole 104a and larger than the recovery hole 104a, a first connecting wall 147b extending upward from one left or right end of the prevention section body 147a and connected to the upper wall 146, and a pair of second connecting walls 147c extending upward from both the front and rear ends of the prevention section body 147a. That is, the upper side of the prevention section body 147a is surrounded by the first connecting wall 147b and each of the second connecting walls 147c, except for the other left and right ends. In this embodiment, the first connecting wall 147b and each of the second connecting walls 147c form a surrounding wall, and an opening 147d is formed between the other left and right ends of each of the second connecting walls 147c. Furthermore, flange portions 147e extending downward are formed at the left and right ends of the prevention unit body 147a. The first connecting wall 147b, each second connecting wall 147c, and flange portions 147d effectively prevent the liquid inside the tank 104 from entering the recovery hole 104a.

[0054] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 13, the tank 4 has a urine treatment liquid 6 stored inside for treating urine. The urine treatment liquid 6 uses water as the solvent, and an acid that reacts with ammonia and a surfactant that kills microorganisms as the solutes. In this embodiment as well, tartaric acid is used as the acid in the urine treatment liquid 6, and benzalkonium chloride is used as the surfactant in the urine treatment liquid 6. The capacity of the tank 4 is arbitrary, but for example, it can be 5 liters or more and 20 liters or less. By making it possible to store 5 liters or more of liquid in the tank 104, it can handle about one week's worth of urine from a small dog, and by making it 20 liters or less, the tank 104 can be made more compact, and the pet toilet 1 can be made smaller.

[0055] As shown in Figure 9, the cover 5 is formed to cover one of the longer sides of the scaffolding member 103, which is rectangular in plan view. The longitudinal length of the cover 5 is formed to be the sum of the long and short sides of the scaffolding member 103, and multiple folds 5a are formed at any position along the longitudinal direction that can be selectively folded. In this embodiment, folds 5a are formed at positions half the length of the short side of the scaffolding member 103 from both ends in the longitudinal direction, and at positions the length of the short side of the scaffolding member 103. As a result, the cover 5 can take the form of covering one of the long sides and half of both short sides of the scaffolding member 103, as shown in Figure 9, and the form of covering one of the long sides and one of the short sides of the scaffolding member 103, as shown in Figure 14. The cover 5 is selectively attached to the scaffolding member 103 and is suitably used for pets that lift their legs when urinating, such as male dogs.

[0056] With the pet toilet 101 configured as described above, urine released from the pet is collected in the tank 104 and treated with the urine treatment liquid 6. As long as the urine treatment liquid 6 in the tank 104 is not completely consumed, no unpleasant odor caused by urine will be generated. Therefore, as in conventional methods, it is not necessary to maintain a state where toilet sand is spread on the scaffolding member 103 to prevent odors, and the burden of monitoring the pet toilet 101 on the owner can be reduced. Furthermore, once the urine treatment solution 6 is refilled in the tank 104, pet urine can be treated for an extended period. Therefore, there is no need to regularly change the litter as in conventional systems, and it can be left unattended for a long time, relieving pet owners of stress. Furthermore, unlike conventional designs, there is no need to spread cat litter on the scaffolding members 103. By omitting the cat litter, the height dimension of the pet toilet 101 can be reduced by the amount of cat litter that would otherwise be used, thus enabling a more compact pet toilet 101.

[0057] In this embodiment as well, the tartaric acid contained in the urine treatment liquid 6 neutralizes the ammonia in the urine, converting it to ammonium tartrate. As a result, the ammonia in the urine disappears immediately after it flows into the tank 104, and the tank 104 is not filled with an unpleasant odor caused by ammonia. In addition, the benzalkonium chloride contained in the urine treatment liquid 6 kills the microorganisms in the urine. As a result, the urea in the urine is not broken down into ammonia by microorganisms, and the generation of ammonia in the tank 104 can be suppressed. Furthermore, components other than urea in the urine are not broken down by microorganisms. Therefore, even if the treated liquid is stored in the tank 104 for a long period of time, urea and other components will not be broken down and unpleasant odors will not be generated.

[0058] Furthermore, since the recess in the tank 104 where the liquid is stored is closed by the upper wall 146, the liquid stored in the tank 104 will not be scattered into the surroundings. In particular, according to this embodiment, even if the tank 104 is subjected to vibration or tilted due to moving the pet toilet 101, the splash prevention part 147 located inside the tank 104 prevents the liquid inside the tank 104 from being scattered to the outside of the recovery hole 104a.

[0059] Furthermore, the user of the pet toilet 101 can remove the lid 149 and open the maintenance hole 104c to discharge the stored liquid through the maintenance hole 104c. Maintenance by the user can be performed by opening the front wall 121 as shown in Figure 10 and sliding the tank 104 forward to remove it. In this embodiment, since the urine treatment liquid 6 does not contain harmful components, the user can easily and simply dispose of the urine treated with the urine treatment liquid 6. The urine treatment liquid 6 can be replenished from either the recovery hole 104a or the maintenance hole 104c.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the splash prevention section 147 of the tank 104 is shown to be connected to the upper wall 146, but it may also be connected to, for example, the front wall 141, the left side wall 142, the rear wall 143, or the right side wall 144. Furthermore, although the splash prevention section 147 is shown to have a first connecting wall 147b, each second connecting wall 147c, and a flange portion 147d, the shape and other aspects can be arbitrarily changed as long as it has a portion that overlaps with the recovery hole 104a in a plan view. Moreover, it is also possible to omit the splash prevention section 147.

[0061] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments described above do not limit the invention as defined in the claims. Furthermore, it should be noted that not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential for solving the problem of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1 Pet toilet 1a Front opening 2 cases 3. Scaffolding components 4 tanks 4a Recovery hole 4b Grip part 4c Maintenance hole 5 Cover 5a Fold 6. Urine treatment solution 21 Front wall 21a Flange section 21b Axial support 22 Left side wall 23 Back wall 24 Right side wall 25 Bottom wall 31 Passing hole 32 Flat area 33 Lower protrusion 41 Front wall 42 Left side wall 43 Back wall 44 Right side wall 45 Bottom wall 46 Upper wall 47 Scattering prevention part 47a Prevention part body 47b Left encircling wall 47th century front and rear siege walls 47d aperture 47e Flange section 47f Aperture Wall 48 Slope 49 Lid 101 Pet toilet 102 cases 103 Scaffolding components 104 tanks 104a Recovery hole 104c Maintenance hole 121 Front wall 121a Flange section 134 Upper protrusion 146 Upper wall 147 Scattering prevention part 147a Prevention unit body 147b First connecting wall 147c Second connecting wall 147d aperture 147e Flange section 148 Slope 149 Lid The liquid level in the L1 tank is at the same level as the bottom surface of the prevention unit. The liquid level of the standard volume when the L2 tank is held in a gripping position. Liquid level of standard capacity when the L3 tank is in the discharge position. Liquid level of standard capacity when the L4 tank is in the mounted position.

Claims

1. A plate-shaped scaffolding member having a passage hole formed to allow pet urine to pass through, In the case where the upper opening is closed by the scaffolding member, The scaffolding member is positioned below the scaffolding member and includes a tank for collecting the urine that has passed through the passage hole, No toilet sand is placed on the upper surface of the scaffolding member. The tank has a recess capable of storing liquid, and a plate-shaped closing portion that closes the opening of the recess and receives the urine that has passed through the passage hole of the scaffolding member on its upper surface. The aforementioned occluded portion is formed with a recovery hole that allows the urine received on the upper surface to flow into the tank. The upper surface of the blocking portion is inclined downward from below the passage hole to the recovery hole, toward the recovery hole. The tank is equipped with a urine treatment liquid stored in a recess and used to treat the urine that flows in from the recovery hole, The tank is placed inside the case. The tank is a pet toilet that allows the scaffolding member to be inserted into and removed from the case without removing the scaffolding member from the case.

2. The tank has a front wall provided with a gripping portion for an operator to hold, The pet toilet according to claim 1, wherein the tank is slidable forward of the case.

3. A maintenance hole is provided separately from the recovery hole for draining the internal liquid, The gripping portion is provided on the horizontal central side of the front wall, The pet toilet according to claim 2, wherein the maintenance hole is located on one end of the tank in the left-right direction and on the front end in the front-back direction.

4. The tank is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and has an inclined surface at the meeting portion of the front wall and the side walls on one end on the left and right sides, The pet toilet according to claim 3, wherein the maintenance hole is located on the inclined surface.

5. The pet toilet according to claim 4, wherein the collection hole is formed in the front-to-back direction on the front side of the center of the upper wall.

6. The pet toilet according to claim 5, wherein the recovery hole is formed in the left-right direction on the side opposite to the maintenance hole from the center of the upper wall.

7. A method for discharging treated urine in a pet toilet according to any one of claims 3 to 6, Using the gripping portion, slide the tank forward to remove it from the case. The tank is then moved to a gripping position with its front wall facing upwards, and the tank is carried to a location where urine can be discharged. A method for discharging treated urine in a pet toilet, wherein the tank is positioned in a discharge position with the maintenance hole side tilted downward from the gripping position, and the treated urine is discharged through the maintenance hole.

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