Pickup device for animal waste

[0002] The invention pertains to an animal waste pickup device that can be used in an easy procedure and in a completely sanitary manner. Pet owners and other observers are quite familiar with city and other local ordinances that require pet owners, who take their pets for walks, to pick up the pet's or animal's dropping such as feces to keep the environment in a sanitary condition. This ordinance, including common sense, applies to public properties as well as private properties. With the increased public concern over sanitation and a cleaner environment many municipalities have required that dog owners clean up after the animals have defecated on public properties. Although this is more pleasant for the public, it leaves the dog owner with an extremely unpleasant task. Many different scooping devices have been provided to hold a bag open while the feces are scraped or scooped therein. Various devices are known to accomplish the above mandate. It is known to use plastic gloves that are worn on the hand which simply pick up the droppings and by inverting the glove or by stripping the glove off the hand to invert the same, the dropping can be disposed of in a sanitary manner. Others simply carry a small shovel and a bucket or similar container to accomplish the same task as noted above. Then, there are other more complicated devices which accomplish the pick up and disposal of animal droppings in a completely sanitary manner.

[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,082 describes a device which accomplishes the above noted task. The implement described in the above noted patent consists of an elastomeric band to automatically close over the mouth of a flexible wrapper which is operated by two side plates that will swing inwardly at their bottoms to thereby grab the flexible wrapper having the animal dropping therein, to keep it therein and to thereafter dispose of the same, all in a sanitary manner.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,537 shows a similar device. This patent discloses a device which also uses a pair of jaws that are pivotally attached to one end of a long handle. An elongated sleeve is connected to the jaws around the handle. When the jaws are locked open, a bag clip engages the closed end of an ordinary thin plastic bag while the open end of the bag is everted over the edges of the jaws. To pick up the dog feces, the user positions the open bag over the waste, makes jaw contact with the ground, rotates the sleeve to unlock a sliding motion and moves the sleeve downward on the handle. This closes the jaws and encloses the waste within the bag to be disposed of at a later time and in a sanitary manner.

[0005] An object of the invention at hand is to simplify the above noted task of picking up the animal droppings or feces and to dispose of the same in a completely sanitary manner. To this end, the device of the invention operates in a very simple and effective way. It is a lightweight portable device which is easily carried by the user in one hand while being able to control the animal on a leash with the other hand. The device is then activated, with one hand, picking up the feces, bagging and releasing the sealed bag with the waste inside and then dispose of the bag in an appropriate location. Any parts of the device do not come into direct contact with the dog droppings or feces. The device includes a claw and when the claw is activated, the bag performs the function of shielding the claw mechanism from the waste. The device consists of a hollow tube that contains a rod running through the tube and it has a handle on one end and a scooping claw mechanism on the other end. On the rod end closest to the claw, a spring is attached that allows for the automatic retraction of the claw when the handle is released in a controlled manner. The hollow tube on the claw end of the inventive device has a cylinder attached to the same with a bag attached which the claw collapses and triggers the bag to seal.

[0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device in an open position;

[0007] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 in a closed position;

[0008] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2 having a different ejector mechanism.

[0009] FIG. 1 shows in detail the inventive animal waste pick-up device in a perspective view. The device includes a tubular exterior pole 1 which is being held in one hand when the device is operated in its intended use. Within handle 1 slides a second rod or manipulator 2 which at its rear end has a pole 3 mounted thereon which can be rotated as shown by the arrow 3aand the purpose of which will be explained below. The forward end of pole 2 has a sleeve 4amounted thereon which receives a hollow tube-shaped receptacle 4 which is connected to the sleeve 4a.The forward end of the rod 2 has a threaded bushing 5 fastened thereto. The bushing 6 has interior threads that match the exterior threads of the sleeve 5. Attached to the bushing 6 is a scooping claw 7 made out of a thin flexible plastic material such as a clear or opaque acetate. The scooper claw consists of a collapsible cross having four arms 7a.Each of the arms 7ahas bent over ends 7bwhich are long enough so that they overlap each other when the collapsible scooper claw 7 is collapsed as will be explained below. The outer circumference of the claw, when laid out flat, is substantially larger than the inner diameter of the hollow tube 4. The outer ends of the bent over ends 7bhave reversed and curved formations 7cand 7d,respectively. These curved and reversed formations 7cand 7dwill interlock with each other when opposing arms 7aof the claw 7 approach each other and then move into a final locked position. The scooper claw 7 has folding lines 7eimpressed into its material to aid the collapse of the scooper claw or cross when it is activated.

[0010] FIG. 2 shows the device of FIG. 1 in an activated position. The same reference characters have been applied to the same elements as are shown in FIG. 1. The operation of the waste pick-up device is as follows:

[0011] In normal use the scooper claw 7 is attached to the interior rod 2 by way of the threads located on the exterior of the sleeve 5 and the interior threads located in the bushing 6. A piece of paper or bag 10 is placed into the claw or cross 7 prior to using the device. If animal waste is now to be picked up, the user of this device has to merely position the claw 7 with the paper or bag thereon over the waste and to pull up on handle or tube 1. By doing so, the claw is pulled into the interior of the hollow tube 4 whereby the arms 7aof the claw 7 will collapse toward each other with the aid of the fold lines 7ewhile at the same time scraping up the waste from the ground. The collapse of the claw is also aided by the fact that the circumference of the claw, when laid out flat, is substantially larger than the inner diameter of the hollow tube 4. Once the rod 2 has been pulled into the tubular pole far enough, the arms 7aof the claw 7 have completely been collapsed inside the hollow tube 4 to completely encircle the waste within the arms 7a.At this point the paper or bag 10 will have completely surrounded the waste within the arms 7aof the claw 7 without the waste ever having touched the arms 7aof the claw 7 or any other elements of the device.

[0012] Turning now to FIG. 3, there is shown a somewhat different embodiment of the animal waste pick-up device. The same reference characters are applied to the same elements as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this embodiment the screw threads of the sleeve 5 and the bushing 6 have been replaced by either VELCRO™ or by magnets 12. These elements are known for their quick release characteristics and their repeated use capabilities. The loop and hook fasteners of the VELRO™ are each placed on the sleeve 5 and the bushing 6, respectively. In the same manner the opposing magnetic poles of the magnets are similarly placed. In this way the claw 7 is simply and quickly attached to the interior manipulator tube 2 by way of the bushing 6 and the sleeve 5. Located within the manipulator tube is another inner rod 13 which has a knob 14 attached at an outer end while the other end protrudes from the end of the sleeve 5. However, the end of the inner rod is prevented from freely protruding from the sleeve 5 by a spring 15 which is placed between the outer handle 3 and the knob 14 so that the inner rod is always biased outwardly. Once the waste pick-up device has been manipulated, as was explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and one is desirous of dropping the picked up waste at a certain location, one has to merely hit the knob 14, as is shown in FIG. 4, and the claw together with its waste is being ejected from the hollow tube 4 because the hitting force on the knob 14 will easily separate the hook and loop fasteners from each other. Thereafter, the inner rod immediately returns to its rest position by way of the spring 15 and the interior manipulator rod can again be used with a replacement claw and a paper bag thereon. In FIG. 3 there is shown a right hand R and a left hand L which manipulate the knob by simply hitting it. Of course, a left handed person would reverse the hands.

[0013] Also shown in both FIGS. 1 and 2 are rotation prevention stops 8 and 9. The stops 8 and 9 are pressed into the material of the hollow receptacle 4. Therefore, when the arms 7aof the scooper claw are collapsed within the hollow receptacle 4, the arms 7awill abut against the stops 8 and 9 to prevent any rotation of the arms 7a.Thereby, the rod 2 with its bushing 5 can be unscrewed from the sleeve 6 and the scooper claw 7 can drop out of the receptacle 4.