Treat-Dispensing Ball

The prior art provides pet toys that dispense substances when the toy is rolled or otherwise manipulated; catnip-containing toys are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,006,182 and 2,086,631. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,534,964 provides a hollow ball that contains an artificial catnip mouse, sized to pass only partially through slots provided, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,828 provides a hollow sphere having slots configured for the passage of pellets of foods or other substances.

Hollow balls and the like having a variety of forms and arrangements of holes and openings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,684,557, 3,427,030, 4,008,526, 4,930,776 and 5,280,906. A cat toy having an inner ball is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,650, and animal-feeding dispensers, having deflecting elements, are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,948,220, 3,999,519, 5,003,925, 5,213,232, and 5,232,130. Object-containing and receiving devices, games, and toys are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,451,038, 4,727,825, 4,840,374, 4,841,911, and 5,139,453.

Despite the activity in the art indicated by the fore-going, a need remains for a roll toy that is effective for discharging animal treats at random but relatively frequent intervals, which toy is incomplex and relatively facile and inexpensive to manufacture.

Accordingly, the general object of the present invention to provide a novel roll toy for an animal, which is so constructed that the treats contained within the toy are discharged at random but relatively frequent intervals, and which is incomplex and relatively inexpensive and facile to manufacture.

It has now been found that the foregoing and related objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a treat-discharging roll toy comprised of a wall, forming a hollow body configured for rolling and defining an interior cavity and a plurality of mutually spaced openings therein, the openings being dimensioned and configured for passage of animal treats into and out of the cavity. A plurality of deflector members, of functionally solid geometric form, are fixed on the wall and project into the cavity. Each of the deflector members is disposed proximate one of the openings, and serves to deflect loose animal treats, contained in the body cavity, toward the proximate opening during rolling movement of the toy.

The body of the toy will usually consist of two separately formed, and preferably identical, components secured together. Most desirably, each of the body components will include a wall portion and at least one deflector member, with the wall portion and deflector member being integrally formed, as a single piece. The deflector member will advantageously comprise an array of fin elements extending from a central location. In an especially desirable form of deflector member, all of the fin elements will be substantially identical and will extend radially from the central location, thereby affording to the deflector member an effectively cylindrical configuration.

The body of the toy will normally have a central axis on which two deflector members are disposed, and it will in most instances be spherical. Most desirably, there will be only two wall openings, and they will be of straight-sided oval configuration and substantially identical; the body wall will usually be of substantially uniform thickness throughout.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view showing a roll toy embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the toy of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the toy, taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded elevational view, depicting the two hemispheres of which the toy is constructed; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view, taken at the section designated 5 in FIG. 3, drawn to a greatly enlarged scale.

Turning now in detail to the appended drawings, therein illustrated is a roll toy embodying the present invention and constructed from two hemispherical components, each generally designated by the numeral 10. Since the components 10 are identical, description of one of them will, by-and-large, suffice.

More particularly, each hemispherical component 10 is comprised of a wall portion 12 having an edge on which is formed a tongue element and a groove element 14, 16 respectively, each extending half way around the mouth of the recess 18 defined within the hemisphere. It will be appreciated that the tongue elements 14 are dimensioned and configured to mate with the groove elements 16, so that when the two constituent components 10 are assembled, in the orientation dictated by the elements 14, 16, their features will be disposed in proper relationships to one another.

An effectively cylindrical deflector member, generally designated by the numeral 20, is integrally formed on the central axis of the wall portion 12 of each hemisphere 10, and projects into the recess 18 defined. Each deflector member consists of an array of radially extending fins or vanes 22, the free outer edges of which lie on an imaginary cylindrical surface. In the spherical body (ball) that results from assembly of the components 10, the deflector members project toward one another, on a diametric axis, into the cavity formed by the cooperating recesses 18.

Proximate each of the deflector structures 20 is a straight-sided oval opening 24 in the wall portion 12. In the embodiment illustrated, the toy is particularly adapted to contain and discharge artificial bones (of the typical shape suggested in phantom line, in FIG. 1), which can pass through the openings 24 only in certain orientations. The deflecting structures 20 direct, and induce reorientation of, the artificial bones, and thereby promote release of treats intermittently through the openings 24 as the toy is rolled, randomly but at relatively frequent intervals.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the described construction will facilitate production of the toy, usually made of plastic, and will render manufacture relatively inexpensive. Because the components of the toy are identical they can both be produced from the same mold. Moreover, the deflecting structure is such that it can be formed integrally with the wall portion of the component, the thin fin arrangement described ensuring rapid cool-down of the molded plastic without undue distortion, and also facilitating ready release of the part from the mold. The formed hemispherical components may be secured to one another by any suitable means, such as adhesive bonding, plastic welding, or the like, and it will be appreciated that they will normally be permanently affixed, with loading of treats being readily achieved by introducing them through the openings 24.

In the most preferred embodiments, the toy will take the form of a sphere having a diameter of about 41/2 to 10 inches, with straight-sided oval openings. In the 41/2 inch diameter ball, the openings will usually measure about 11/8 to 13/8 inch in length and 1/2 to 5/8 inch in width; the deflector will, in such embodiments, usually have a diameter of about 11/4 to 11/2 inch and a height of about 7/8 to 11/8 inch, with the fins being separated by about 1/4 inch or less at free ends (to prevent entry of the treat therebetween, thereby enabling the structure to function like a solid cylindrical member). In 7 to 10 inch diameter versions of the ball, the openings will usually measure about 13/8 to 17/8 inch in length and 9/16 to 13/16 in width, and the deflector will usually have a diameter of about 13/8 to 2 inches and a height of about 11/4 to 13/4 inches; the separation at the ends of the fins will desirably be 5/8 inch or less (it being assumed that a larger treat will be used in the larger models). Depending upon the other dimensions, at the point of minimum separation the deflector will usually lie about 1/4 to 1 inch from the proximate opening, albeit that a separation in the range 1/2 to 3/4 inch will often produce the most desirable effect.

While a spherical toy for dispensing bone-shaped treats has been illustrated, it will be appreciated that the toy and the treats may take many different forms without departure from the concepts of the present invention. It will also be appreciated that the selection of optimal dimensions will depend upon the particular form of the toy and of the treat product that is employed with it. The toy will however normally have a circular external contour, at least in all planes that are perpendicular to a central axis, to facilitate rolling (it may, for example, be of generally elliptical cross section). The inside surface will usually also be of regular spheric contour, albeit that external and internal irregularities (the latter being in addition to the deflecting structures described) may be present if the toy will, as a result, be rendered more effective for its intended purposes.

The shape and number of the openings provided may of course vary from the illustrated embodiment, depending in large measure upon the nature of the treat that is to be dispensed. Two openings have been found to provide a level of intermittent reward sufficient to maintain the interest of a dog. The construction and configuration of the deflecting structures, as well as the number of such members provided, may also vary considerably from the illustrated embodiment; the deflectors should, in any event, have a functionally solid geometric form (albeit that they may be comprised of radial vane elements, as illustrated) which, in a body of circular cross section, is desirably also of circular cross section in the same planes. For the reasons described, the depicted structure and arrangement of openings and deflectors is presently regarded to constitute the best mode of carrying the invention into practice, as conceived for dispensing artificial bone-shaped treats from a ball-like toy. Finally, although a transparent or translucent plastic will usually be used for molding the components, other materials and fabrication techniques may be employed, if so desired.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a novel roll toy for an animal, which is so constructed that the treats contained within the toy are discharged at random but relatively frequent intervals, and which is incomplex and relatively inexpensive and facile to manufacture.