Top-Loading Pet Carrier With Hinge-Latch Cover for Easier Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pet carriers with front openings often cause resistance and difficulty when animals, particularly cats, are placed inside, as they prefer a circular sleeping area and may resist entering through the front opening.
Innovation Solution
A pet carrier design featuring a generally circular body with a single top-loading opening and a hingedly attached cover, utilizing a latch mechanism for secure closure, allowing animals to enter and exit vertically, thereby reducing resistance and providing a calming environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a front opening is provided in conventional pet carriers, then the carrier structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but animals resist entering and it creates dangerous situations during loading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional front-loading approach by providing a top opening instead. The carrier body has an opening in its top surface, allowing the animal to be lowered vertically into the carrier from above, which eliminates the animal's resistance to entry while maintaining structural simplicity
2Ease of operation
If a top opening is provided in the carrier, then animal loading is easier and safer, but the carrier structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier is segmented into a removable cover portion and a carrier body. The cover portion can be completely removed from the carrier body, providing flexibility: it can be fully removed for easy animal loading, or attached to provide protection while still allowing top access. This segmentation resolves the complexity issue by making the optional components separable rather than integrated
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a cover portion is attached to the carrier, then animal protection is improved, but access for loading becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cover portion is designed to be dynamically configurable - it can be completely removed, partially attached, or fully attached depending on the situation. The removable design allows the cover to be detached entirely during loading to maximize access, then reattached afterward to provide protection, giving the user dynamic control over the trade-off between protection and access
Data Source
AI summary
A carrier includes a body, a cover, a first latch mechanism, a first pair of receptacles, a second latch mechanism, and a second pair of receptacles. The body includes a top portion. A top aperture and a plurality of latch receiving receptacles are provided in the top portion. The cover defines a first side and a second side substantially opposite the first side. In a latched position the first latch mechanism is received in at least one of the latch receiving receptacles. The first pair of receptacles are provided at the first side of the cover and receive the first latch mechanism. In a latched position the second latch mechanism is received in at least one of the latch receiving receptacles. The second pair of receptacles are at the second side of the cover . . . . The second pair of receptacles receives the second latch mechanism. The first latch mechanism and the second latch mechanism are each configured to act as both a hinge and a latch mechanism.