Cat Carrier Sliding Floor Destabilizes Footing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pet carriers are unsuitable for cats due to their agility, sharp claws, and skittish nature, making it difficult to safely transfer them in and out of the enclosures.
Innovation Solution
A cat carrier design featuring a sliding floor that can be translated within an outer housing, assisted by rollers, to provide unobstructed access and mildly destabilize the cat's footing, encouraging it to crouch down and preventing escape, along with adjustable height features to minimize jumping and ensure safe containment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional fixed floor design is used, then the carrier structure is simple and stable, but it is difficult to safely transfer cats in and out due to their agility and sharp claws
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the floor movable rather than fixed. The floor can be translated between a loaded position (extended outward) and an unloaded position (retracted inward), allowing the carrier to adapt its configuration based on operational needs. This dynamic floor enables safe cat transfer by providing unobstructed access when extended, while maintaining a compact structure when retracted.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier is divided into separate functional components: an outer housing and an inner insert with the movable floor. This segmentation allows the floor to be independently controlled and moved relative to the housing, enabling the destabilizing effect on cats while maintaining overall structural integrity through the relationship between these segmented parts.
2Reliability
If the floor is made movable to destabilize cat footing, then cat containment is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
Rollers are introduced as intermediary elements between the floor and the outer housing to facilitate smooth translation of the floor. These rollers reduce friction and enable the floor to move easily between positions, improving cat containment through the destabilizing effect while minimizing the complexity of the moving mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor translation mechanism is designed to be manually operable without requiring complex motors or automated systems. The simple mechanical design allows users to easily move the floor between positions, making the system self-sufficient and avoiding additional complexity from powered actuation systems.
3Ease of operation
If the floor is extended outward for unobstructed access, then ease of cat handling is improved, but the carrier volume available for cat containment is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The floor dynamically changes position between extended and retracted states. When extended outward, it provides unobstructed access for cat handling. When retracted inward, it maximizes the internal volume available for cat containment. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the carrier to optimize for different operational requirements without permanently sacrificing either access or volume.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design allows for safe and secure transfer of cats into and out of the carrier by leveraging their natural reactions to maintain balance and reduce the likelihood of escape, ensuring a safe and stress-free handling process.
Implementation Method 1
The floor can be slid in and out of the housing with the aid of rollers
Data Source
AI summary
A portable cat carrier has a sliding floor that momentarily and mildly destabilizes a cat's footing to facilitate transferring the cat in and out of the carrier. The floor is the bottom portion of a movable insert that has a receptacle for receiving the cat. The insert has relatively low side panels to provide the cat with a calming, unrestricted side view. After the cat is lowered into the receptacle, the insert is slid horizontally into an outer housing for containing the cat. When the insert is fully inserted within the housing, a front panel of the insert closes the housing's access opening to prevent the cat from escaping. A back panel of the insert has an elevated impassable rear barrier that prevents the cat from jumping into a trapped area between the insert and the outer housing.