U.S. patent application number 10/628189 was filed with the patent office on 2005-02-03 for growth of ultra-high purity silicon carbide crystals in an ambient containing hydrogen.
Invention is credited to Hobgood, Hudson McDonald, Jenny, Jason Ronald, Malta, David Phillip.
Application Number | 20050022724 10/628189 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34103327 |
Filed Date | 2005-02-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050022724 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Malta, David Phillip ; et
al. |
February 3, 2005 |
Growth of ultra-high purity silicon carbide crystals in an ambient
containing hydrogen
Abstract
A garment for the transporting, observing, entertaining,
training, and displaying of small animals, reptiles and insects
(gerbils, mice, snakes, tarantulas, spiders, lizards, etc.) in the
tunnels of the garment while on the shoulders of their owners. The
garment consists of a see-through, mesh washable fabric panel on
top and a brightly colored washable panel underneath, attached to
each other using releasable fasteners. The fasteners also provide
means to construct tunnel walls and nesting areas for the small
animal. The fasteners further provide attachment to the garment
tunnel's floor and walls for toys and other paraphernalia to
entertain the pet and adorn the garment. This garment allows the
owner to hold, observe, and transport his pet without damaging or
soiling his clothes while his pet has a tunnel in which to play and
rest safely. Also the owner can remove toys, food and nesting
material in order to launder the garment.
Inventors: |
Malta, David Phillip;
(Raleigh, NC) ; Jenny, Jason Ronald; (Raleigh,
NC) ; Hobgood, Hudson McDonald; (Pittsboro,
NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SUMMA & ALLAN, P.A.
11610 NORTH COMMUNITY HOUSE ROAD
SUITE 200
CHARLOTTE
NC
28277
US
|
Family ID: |
34103327 |
Appl. No.: |
10/628189 |
Filed: |
July 28, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
117/84 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C30B 23/00 20130101;
C30B 29/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
117/084 |
International
Class: |
C30B 023/00; C30B
025/00; C30B 028/12; C30B 028/14 |
Claims
What we claim as our invention is:
1. A body mountable small animal shoulder carrier and toy garment
comprising: a top see-through, mesh fabric panel; a bottom brightly
colored fabric panel communicating with said top panel at neck
opening and outer edges in order to construct tunnel walls within
said garment so that a small animal, reptile, insect, etc., can
easily be observed, provide adequate circulation and confine it
while it is being transported and displayed; a means of releasable
attachment, such as releasable fasteners like snaps, hook-loop
attachment, etc., of said top panel to bottom panel to close a gap
therebetween; a neck opening, said neck opening defined by the area
in the center of the garment, creating a left front panel and right
front panel to the garment; and wherein said means of releasable
attachment provides a means of lateral translation of said left
front panel in relation to said right front panel, whereby said
neck opening may be adjusted for size by adjustment of said means
of lateral translation of said left front panel in relation to said
right front panel.
2. The device as defined in claim 1 further comprising: said means
of releasable attachments of said top panel and said bottom panel
to construct tunnels within the garment cavity produced by the
attachment of said top panel to said bottom panel.
3. The device as defined in claim 2 further comprising: a
selectable small animal toy from a group of releasably attachable
animal toys, said selectable animal toy releasably attachable to
tunnel's floor and walls of said garment; and means to releasably
attach said selectable animal toy to said garment within the
tunnel's floor and walls of said garment.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Applicant claims priority of Provisional Application No.
60/397,061, filed Jul. 19, 2002
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable
[0003] REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER
PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX
[0004] Not Applicable
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM
LISTING APPENDIX
[0005] Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The invention relates to a garment worn by the user for
clothing protection and to transport and entertain small animals
(gerbils, mice, snakes, tarantula, spiders, lizards, etc.). More
specifically, this garment relates to a short, very colorful
shoulder cover garment that is used to protect the clothing of the
user and to display, shelter and observe the animal while providing
entertainment and protection of the animal.
[0007] Individuals who have small animals (gerbils, mice, snakes,
tarantulas, spiders, lizards, etc.) often relate to them closely
and like to show them off and play with them out of their cages,
often going so far as to put them in a pocket or bag for their
protection. Around the shoulders is a natural place for these
animals to climb onto for safety from larger animals and to get
away from quick hand and body movements from people that scare the
animals. Small animals also are attracted to bright colours due to
their curious nature. When they are out of their cage, they like to
crawl into covered places like tunnels to hide and rest. Often they
climb inside a person's clothes, and sometimes fearfully bite or
accidentally claw a person trying to put them back in their cage.
Another problem arises when the animal relives itself, which is
quite often if the animal is afraid or uncomfortable. The droppings
of small animals are not excessively large and generally dry
quickly without much noticeable odor, but it may stain or discolour
clothing. It is not uncommon for a person to have to change
clothing after handling small animals.
[0008] A number of shoulder drapes with perches for birds have been
developed, most inclined to locate over ones shoulder with some
form of waist collecting receptacle. Although these have been
suitable for birds, they have no tunnelling effect for small
animals such as gerbils, mice, lizards, tarantulas, etc., that need
to be more sheltered and confined, both for the safety of the
animal and its comfort as it is being transported. There are
several devices for mazes and tunnels available to transport small
animals and to provide tunnels and mazes: however, they are not
made of flexible material, nor do they fit around the shoulders of
the owner.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,427 of Hoover describes insertable
stacking components which are transparent to view the animal and
the configuration of the maze pieces can be changed for more
entertainment of the animal. They are made of transparent, colored,
molded plastic and are meant to be in an enclosure such as a cage:
therefore they are not suitable for safe enclosure of the animal
while it is being transported and the animal can't be placed on the
owners body. U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,713 of Hansen makes available a
kit for making your own maze, but the invention is designed for
school project uses and is too cumbersome to be portable when
completed.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,745 of Spires describes a pet travelling
kit that resembles a folding garment bag. It provides a cushion for
the pet and pockets for storing items the pet may need: however, it
is designed for a cat or dog and would not be suitable for the
smaller animals such as gerbils, mice, lizards, snakes, etc.,
because it is too big and it would be hard to find such a small
animal to remove or check on during travel without the possibility
of the animal slipping away.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,125 of Rotramel describes an animal
harborage which is made primarily as a pest trap in which you can
inject insecticides. Although it would be a suitable container for
insects because it has artificial webs and is made of solid porous
materials, it is designed as a cage in which the insects could
hide, thus it would limit the best observation of the insect or
rodent, and would not allow the close feeling an owner gets when
the pet is placed on the shoulder.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,126 of Schellenbach describes a shoulder
draped bird perch which transports birds on both shoulders of the
owner and allows for adjustable fasteners, weighting of the
material, attachment of toys and adjustable sizes. While it is
quite adequate for all sizes of birds who are trained to stay on an
owners shoulder, it does not have any tunnels for small animals
which need to be confined while being observed, displayed, trained
and transported.
[0013] There is such a pressing need in the field of garment design
for new shoulder worn devices to provide a secure environment for
owners to display, entertain and transport their small animals.
This garment has been designed with unique features to show off,
entertain, observe, and transport small animals along with
protecting the wearer's clothing from being soiled by animal
droppings.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The above noted problems, and others, are over come by the
small animal shoulder carrier garment of this invention, which
basically covers the front and back shoulder areas of the wearer,
opening at the front with any one of a number of conventional
means. The releasable fasteners allow the adjustment of the tunnel
configuration and for easy removal of the animals, making it
possible to remove said animal from any point along the garment
edges. The ties provide a means where by toys and other
paraphernalia are attached to the garment. It is foreseen that some
people will enjoy covering both the top layer and the bottom layer
of the tunnels with toys, bells, mirrors and buttons along with any
other items a small animal would play with in the tunnels or which
they wish to display. These garments, as in all garments, will be
made in varying sizes; small, medium and large.
[0015] While any suitable configuration for the garment may
suffice, the preferred design will incorporate a top panel and
bottom panel which are attached by releasable fasteners that
provide a tunnel, an enclosed environment for the animal, the
attachment of other toys in the tunnel and allow for the laundering
of the garment. The top and bottom panels are attached to each
other by the conventional method of sewing at the neck opening. The
outer edges of the top and bottom panels will be attached to each
other with, but not limited to, a hook-loop type of attachment to
allow for easy laundering of the garment and easy removal of the
animal. The rear of the garment will cover the area midway down the
back, and outwardly just past the break in the shoulders with
angles corners at the lower extremities. Two frontal panels, a left
frontal panel and a right frontal panel, are extensions of the back
panel, formed by the neck opening in the garment and are attached
to each other with, but not limited to, a hook-loop type of
attachment, and overlapping in the front, as in any shirt or blouse
type of garment with, but not limited to, a hook-loop type of
attachment with the hook-loop attachment slight adjustments may be
made for the varying sizes of the wearer, while with buttons, snaps
and other conventional means of attachment there are similar
adjustment capabilities, but all will work for the closure of the
two frontal panels of the unique garment as well as the outside
edges, according to the type of animals being transported. These
frontal panels will cover the upper chest area of the wearer from
the apex of the shoulder to approximately {fraction (2/3)} of the
way down the chest, depending on the size of the wearer. The
frontal panels will have an angled configuration matching those of
the rear panel. The neck line of the garment may have any number of
styles, V neck, square neck, or a curved neck line, giving a
variety of styles while staying in the scope of the patent, the
material for the bottom panel of the preferred embodiment would be,
but not limited to, 100% cotton, where by it would be easily
laundered, and available in a wide variety of bright and unique
colors and patterns. This type of material would absorb the
moisture and the bright colors would conceal some of the droppings.
The droppings of small animals are often a white substance that
when dry can be brushed off easily. A nonsliding material as in,
but not limited to, a soft cotton flannel, will be used for the
backing of the bottom panel to prevent slipping with the movement
of the animal. The material for the top panel of the preferred
embodiment would be, but not limited to, a see-through, mesh
material such as fiberglass screening, fisherman's netting, etc.,
whereby the garment could be easily laundered, and available in a
wide variety of mesh hole sizes for various sized animals, reptiles
and insects. This type of material allows the animal to be easily
observed, provide adequate air circulation and confine it while
being transported or displayed.
[0016] The ties will be used to attach toys, and other
paraphernalia for entertaining the animals and making the garment
more fun to wear. The panels may be turned inside out and sewn in a
conventional manner for assembly, or may be edges with a colorful
bias tape, which is another conventional method for manufacturing
garments. It must be noted that, like adding toys to the inside of
an animals cage and adding pins to a funny hat, this garment is
intended to be adorned in a number of ways by the wearer, but the
adding of tunnels are included within the scope of this patent.
[0017] It is the object of this invention to create a garment
whereby the wearer can transport varying sizes of small animals,
reptiles and insects in a relatively natural environment.
[0018] It is also the object of the invention to create a device
which protects the wearers clothing, both front and back, from
damage from a small pet's droppings when transporting on the
shoulder, or damage from the pet's teeth and claws.
[0019] It is another object of the invention to create a device
which creates a tunnel enclosure and carrier garment for
transporting, training, displaying and observing small animals,
reptiles and insects.
[0020] It is still another object of this invention to create a
garment that may be made of a wide variety of bright and colourful
materials enhancing and showing off the color of the pet
animals.
[0021] It is still another object of this invention to create a
garment that may be made in varying sizes while being able to
adjust within each size to make the garment fit comfortably to
accommodate the movement of the animal.
[0022] It is yet another object of this invention to create a
garment that can be easily adorned with toys and other
paraphernalia inside the tunnels to entertain the animal and to
enhance the garment. The invention accordingly comprises the
features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement
of parts that will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter
set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the
claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0023] FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of the PetBib shoulder
carrier garment device with a mesh see-through top panel and a
bottom colorful panel joined together with releasable fasteners and
ties. The cut-a-way in the right front panel shows the fasteners
that create the tunnels and an example of the typical shiny gemlike
toys and ornaments that are placed strategically throughout the
tunnels created by the joining of the top and bottom panels.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the PetBib shoulder
carrier garment device with the mesh see-through top panel and the
bottom colorful panel joined together with releasable fasteners and
ties. The cut-a-way in the rear view shows a typical small animal
in the tunnels with strategically placed typical nesting and the
releasable fasteners, which create the tunnels.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of the PetBib shoulder
carrier garment device 8 displaying a first panel depicted as a
right frontal panel 12 and a second panel shown as the left frontal
panel 14. The right frontal panel 12 is folded back displaying an
optional means of attachment of the right frontal panel 12 to the
left frontal panel 14 mating fasteners in the form of hook material
16 and loop material 18 attached to the garment device 8 by means
of sewing, adhesive, or other conventional means of affixing of the
fastener to the fabric of the garment device 8. Of course, the
means of attachment of the first panel to the second could be
conventional fasteners such as snaps, hooks and eyes, or ties, but
the current best mode features hook and loop fabric.
[0026] The front neckline 31 of the garment device 8 will be
available in a number of variations of style, V neck, a square
neck, or curved neck, with a back neckline 30 retaining the
conventional curved configuration. The lower extremities 22 and 24
of the frontal panels 12 and 14 in the current best mode have the
angled configuration displayed in FIG. 1, but other shapes are
anticipated.
[0027] The back panel 30 having the similar angled extremities 22
and 24 in the current best mode with the most stable mount extends
approximately two-thirds of the way down the back of the wearer,
depending on their size. Of course different owners may wish to
have this extension down the back larger or smaller, and styles may
dictate a change also, and such is anticipated.
[0028] The backing or inner surface 38 of the garment device 8 is
currently best constructed of a soft flannel material; however,
other materials could be used depending on the wearer's comfort
concerns. The edges 33 of the garment device 8 are configured in
any convention manner, one current mode being the turning of the
garment device 8 inside-out and sewing the edges 33, or edging the
garment device 8 with a conventional bias tape.
[0029] A typical pet small animal 10 resting on the bottom panel 66
in FIG. 2 has the high probability of placing droppings 88
displayed on the bottom panel 66 during the animal 10's daily
tenure on the device 8. Since the device functions as a means for
protection of the clothing of the user from such droppings,
material resistant and from which the droppings may be easily
removed is used for the bottom panel 66.
[0030] A toy 68 is shown attached on the bottom panel 66 on the
tunnel floor in FIG. 1, although they may be attached to any of the
tie straps 20 throughout the article. A means to entertain the
animal 10 is thus provided by attachment of the toy 68 to the
device 8 and the device 8 can be provided with a plurality of such
toys 68 that are releasably attachable to device 8 to enhance this
means to entertain the animal 10.
[0031] Additional function is provided by a means to traverse
through tunnels 52 on opposing shoulders of the user, without
touching the user. This means to traverse between shoulders is
provided by the tunnels 52 which allows the animal 10 to translate
between the two shoulders 42 by travelling through the tunnels 52
as it goes from one side to the other. Of course other types of
fabric or material can be used to form the tunnels 52 but the
current best mode features see-through, mesh materials as they
provide an excellent shelter construction for the animal 10 during
traverse and to provide adequate air supply. This encourages the
animal 10 to traverse between shoulders without touching the user's
back, neck, or clothing, and to change positions, thus allowing the
animal 10 more exercise as well as dispersing the animal's weight
on the user to two shoulders over time. Nesting material 48 can be
placed in tunnels 52 as shown in the cut-a-way of FIG. 2.
[0032] While all the fundamental characteristics and features of
the PetBib shoulder carrier garment device 8 have been shown and
described, it should be understood that various substitutions,
modifications and variations may be made by those skilled in the
art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
Consequently, all such modifications and variations are included
within the scope of the invention as defined by the following
claims.
* * * * *