Pet Chew Toy With Stabilizing Base And Toothpaste Reservoir
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pet chew toys fail to effectively allow domestic pets to self-clean their teeth, as they often lack features that enable stabilization and the use of pet toothpaste, and do not differentiate between the inner and outer teeth surfaces, leading to incomplete dental hygiene.
Innovation Solution
A chew toy design featuring a central member with inner and outer surfaces equipped with scrubbing elements, a bottom stabilizing portion for upright grip, and a reservoir for toothpaste, allowing pets to engage in effective dental cleaning by stabilizing the toy with their paws and using toothpaste for enhanced plaque removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional manual cleaning methods are used, then dental hygiene can be maintained, but the process is time-consuming and creates antagonism between pet and owner
Solution Approach 1:
The chew toy is designed to enable pets to clean their own teeth through natural chewing actions. The toy includes differentiated surfaces with textures and projections that correspond to different tooth types, allowing the pet's natural chewing motion to effectively clean both front and back teeth without requiring owner intervention.
2Ease of operation
If simple chew toys without stabilization features are used, then the pet can easily grip the toy, but the friction and cleaning effectiveness are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The chew toy incorporates differentiated surfaces with specific textures and projections tailored to different tooth regions. The toy includes a stabilizing feature at the bottom that provides upright grip stability, while the chewing surface has varied textures corresponding to canine, premolar, and molar areas to maximize cleaning effectiveness for each tooth type.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform surface textures are used on chew toys, then manufacturing is simplified, but the cleaning action is insufficient for different tooth types
Solution Approach 1:
The chew toy features differentiated surfaces with distinct textures and projections customized for specific tooth types. The toy includes a stabilizing feature at the bottom that provides upright grip stability, while the chewing surface has varied textures corresponding to canine, premolar, and molar areas to maximize cleaning effectiveness for each tooth type.
4Device complexity
If chew toys without toothpaste reservoirs are used, then the design is simpler, but the ability to use pet toothpaste for enhanced cleaning is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The chew toy integrates a toothpaste reservoir directly into the toy structure, combining the chewing function with the toothpaste delivery function. The reservoir allows pet toothpaste to be applied to the chew toy surface, enhancing the cleaning action when the pet chews, thereby improving plaque removal effectiveness without requiring separate toothpaste application steps.
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 chew toy promotes efficient self-cleaning of both front and rear teeth surfaces, reducing the need for manual intervention and improving overall pet dental hygiene by maximizing friction and contact area with the pet's teeth and gums.
Implementation Method 1
The use of domestic pet chew toys as a method of mimicking these natural dental hygiene methods for domestic pets... allowing for a stronger and more satisfying engagement by the pet's mouth, while increasing the friction applied to the pet's teeth and oral cavity by the bone or chew toy
Implementation Method 2
Wild relatives of domestic pets, such as wild dogs and wolves, use the frictional effects of gnawing on bones and other hard objects to clean their teeth of plaque and residual pieces of food
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention recognizes that there exists a long felt need to address dental hygiene in pets. A first aspect of the present invention generally relates to a chew toy for pet dental hygiene. A second aspect of the present invention generally relates to a method of promoting pet dental hygiene.