U.S. patent application number 10/739663 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-23 for ultrasonic toy for animals.
Invention is credited to Bech, Kirsten, Dong, Andy, Hall, Michael, Hill, Andrew, Yau, Simon.
Application Number | 20050136790 10/739663 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34677669 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050136790 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hall, Michael ; et
al. |
June 23, 2005 |
Ultrasonic toy for animals
Abstract
An ultrasonic toy for animals is comprised of a noisemaker
arranged to produce ultrasonic noise at about 30 to 70 dB, which is
loud enough to be clearly heard by an animal but not enough to be
aversive, frightening or harmful to the animal. The noisemaker is
comprised of a resonance tube attached to an air bladder. The
resonance tube includes a closed outer end, an axial hole open to
the inner end, and a notch on a side wall communicating with the
hole. An insert is positioned inside the hole. Keys in the hole and
the insert align the insert radially and longitudinally within the
hole. An alternative noisemaker is comprised of an electronic
transducer driven by an oscillator which is activated by a pressure
sensitive switch. An alternative air bladder includes a recess
wherein the resonance tube is positioned to protect it from being
dislodged or blocked.
Inventors: |
Hall, Michael; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Yau, Simon; (Kowloon, HK) ;
Bech, Kirsten; (Hampton, VA) ; Hill, Andrew;
(Lake Oswego, OR) ; Dong, Andy; (San Francisco,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JACK LO
617 VIEWRIDGE DRIVE
PACIFICA
CA
94044
|
Family ID: |
34677669 |
Appl. No.: |
10/739663 |
Filed: |
December 18, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/202 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G10K 5/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
446/202 |
International
Class: |
A63H 033/40; A63H
005/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. An ultrasonic toy for animals, comprising: a noisemaker arranged
to produce ultrasonic noise at about to 30 to 70 dB when measured
about 6 inches away, which is high enough to be clearly heard by a
predetermined type of animal, but low enough not to be aversive to
said animal when producing said ultrasonic noise close to said
animal's ears.
2. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 1, wherein said
noisemaker is arranged to produce acoustic frequencies of between
about 20 kHz and about 50 kHz.
3. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 1, wherein said
noisemaker is comprised of a resonance tube attached to an air
bladder.
4. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 1, wherein said
noisemaker is comprised of a resonance tube attached to an air
bladder, said resonance tube is comprised of: a hollow tube with an
open inner end connected to said air bladder; a closed outer end; a
triangular notch on a wall of said hollow tube; an insert inside
said hollow tube; and a gap between said insert and said hollow
tube defining a channel between said open inner end of said hollow
tube and said notch.
5. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 1, wherein said
noisemaker is comprised of a transducer driven by an oscillator,
and a pressure sensitive switch connected to said oscillator.
6. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 1, further including a
plush covering surrounding said noisemaker.
7. An ultrasonic toy for animals, comprising: an air bladder with a
recess; and a resonance tube connected to said air bladder and
positioned in said recess.
8. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 7, wherein said
resonance tube is arranged to produce ultrasonic noise at about to
30 to 70 dB when measured about 6 inches away, which is high enough
to be clearly heard by a predetermined type of animal, but low
enough not to be aversive to said animal when producing said
ultrasonic noise close to said animal's ears.
9. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 7, wherein said
resonance tube is arranged to produce acoustic frequencies of
between about 20 kHz and about 50 kHz.
10. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 7, wherein said
resonance tube is comprised of: a hollow tube with an open inner
end connected to said air bladder; a closed outer end; a triangular
notch on a wall of said hollow tube; an insert inside said hollow
tube; a gap between said insert and said hollow tube defining a
channel between said open inner end of said hollow tube and said
notch.
11. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 7, further including a
plush covering surrounding said air bladder and said resonance
tube.
12. An ultrasonic toy for animals, comprising: an air bladder; a
resonance tube attached to said air bladder, said resonance tube
including an axial hole open to an inner end; a triangular notch
positioned on a side of said resonance tube in communication with
said hole; an insert positioned inside said hole; a first key in
said hole engaged with a second key on said insert to radially
align said insert within said hole; and a third key in said hole
engaged with a fourth key on said insert to longitudinally position
said insert within said hole.
13. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 12, wherein said
resonance tube is arranged to produce ultrasonic noise at about to
30 to 70 dB when measured about 6 inches away, which is high enough
to be clearly heard by a predetermined type of animal, but low
enough not to be aversive to said animal when producing said
ultrasonic noise close to said animal's ears.
14. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 12, wherein said
resonance tube is arranged to produce acoustic frequencies of
between about 20 kHz and about 50 kHz.
15. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 12, wherein said first
key is comprised of a longitudinal groove in said hole, and said
second key is comprised of a longitudinal rib shaped to mate with
said groove, said third key in said hole is comprised of a step,
and said fourth key is comprised of an oppositely shaped step
mating with said third key.
16. The ultrasonic toy for animals of claim 12, further including a
plush covering surrounding said resonance tube and said air
bladder.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention broadly relates to sound producing toys for
animals and ultrasonic sound producing devices.
[0003] 2. Prior Art
[0004] Dogs need toys to keep them occupied. Some dog toys are
comprised of a plush body embedded with a noise generator which
produces noise when bitten as feedback for the dogs. The noise
perhaps simulates the noise of a captured pray animal to stimulate
the dogs.
[0005] The noise generator is typically comprised of an air bladder
fitted with a reed valve which squeaks when the air bladder is
squeezed. The reed valve produces noise which is audible to dogs
and humans, wherein the range of human hearing is between about 20
Hz and about 20 kHz, and the range of dog hearing is up to about 50
kHz. Acoustic frequencies above 20 kHz are known as ultrasonic
frequencies. However, the noise produced by squeaking dog toys can
be annoying to humans.
[0006] Other acoustic devices specifically made for dogs include
dog whistles or electronic ultrasonic devices which produce
ultrasonic noise at high enough decibel levels to signal a dog over
a large distance in the case of an ultrasonic whistle or serve as
an aversive stimuli to dogs and other animals in the case of
electronic ultrasonic devices. Such sound producing devices produce
noise levels up to about 120 dB (decibels). Considering the
logarithmic relationship between loudness and dB level, and that a
whisper is about 20 dB, a normal speaking voice is about 60 dB, a
car horn is about 100 dB, and a jet engine is about 130 dB, such
ultrasonic devices are extremely loud--about 2-8 times louder than
a car horn. Although these noises are not annoying or harmful to
humans because they are inaudible, they may be frightening, harmful
or otherwise aversive to a dog if used in a device which produces
the noise within inches of the dog's ears.
[0007] Prior art sound producing devices found in dog toys are
typically comprised of a reed valve with three parts that require
more tooling, and include moving parts that require more careful
and lengthy assembly. Further, they are made of different materials
that must be separated for recycling.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The objects of the present ultrasonic toy for animals
are:
[0009] to produce ultrasonic noise which is audible to animals;
[0010] to produce ultrasonic noise which is inaudible to humans to
avoid annoying people;
[0011] to produce noise levels low enough to avoid being aversive,
frightening or harmful to animals; and
[0012] to be easier to manufacture and recycle.
[0013] The ultrasonic toy for animals is comprised of a noisemaker
arranged to produce ultrasonic noise which is audible to an animal,
such as a dog, but not humans to avoid annoying people. The
noisemaker is arranged to produce noise at about 30 to 70 dB, which
is loud enough to be clearly heard by the animal but not enough to
be aversive, frightening or harmful to the animal. The noisemaker
is comprised of a resonance tube attached to an air bladder. The
resonance tube includes a closed outer end, an axial hole open to
the inner end, and a notch on a side wall communicating with the
hole. An insert is positioned inside the hole. A first key in the
hole is engaged with a second key on the insert to radially align
the insert within the hole. A third key in the hole is engaged with
a fourth key on the insert to limit the insertion of the insert to
a proper depth. An alternative embodiment of the noisemaker is
comprised of an electronic transducer driven by an oscillator which
is activated by a pressure sensitive switch. An alternative air
bladder includes a recess wherein the resonance tube is positioned
to prevent the tube being blocked or inadvertently dislodged.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ultrasonic toy for
animals.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG.
1.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of a noisemaker of the
ultrasonic toy for animals.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG.
3.
[0018] FIG. 5 shows the noisemaker of FIG. 4 assembled.
[0019] FIG. 6 is an end view of the noisemaker of FIG. 5.
[0020] FIG. 7 shows an electronic noisemaker.
[0021] FIG. 8 shows an alternative airbladder.
[0022] FIG. 9 shows an alternative air bladder.
[0023] FIG. 10 shows the noisemaker in a plush covering.
DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0024]
1 10. Noisemaker 11. Resonance Tube 12. Air Bladder 13. Outer End
14. Hole 15. Inner End 16. Notch 17. Insert 18. First Key 19.
Second Key 20. Third Key 21. Fourth Key 22. Flat Portion 23.
Channel 24. Transducer 25. Oscillator 26. Switch 27. Air Bladder
28. Recess 29. Plush Covering 30. Recess
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] FIGS. 1-2:
[0026] A preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic toy for animals
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is comprised of a noisemaker 10 arranged to
produce ultrasonic noise of preferably between about 20 kHz to 30
kHz, which is clearly audible to animals, such as dogs, but not
humans to avoid annoying people. Noisemaker 10 is arranged to
produce ultrasonic noise levels at about 30 to 70 dB, which is loud
enough to be clearly heard by the dog, but not enough to be
aversive, frightening or harmful to the dog. The low noise level is
important since the toy produces noise close to the dog's ears when
the dog bites on it. Such a noise level is neutral or even positive
to the dog or other animal, especially when paired with the
positive experience of playing with the toy.
[0027] In this example, noisemaker 10 is comprised of a resonance
tube 11 attached to a hollow resilient air bladder 12, which may be
of any shape. When a dog bites on air bladder 12, air is forced out
through resonance tube 11 to produce ultrasonic noise. The desired
noise level of about 30 to 70 dB is measured at about 6 inches from
resonance tube 11. Noisemaker 10 may be used alone, or it may be
positioned inside a covering, such as a plush toy.
[0028] FIGS. 3-6:
[0029] An exploded view of resonance tube 11 is shown in FIGS. 3-4.
It includes a closed outer end 13, and an axial hole 14 open to an
inner end 15. A noise emitting triangular notch 16 is positioned on
a side of resonance tube 11 in communication with hole 14, so that
the inner end of hole 14 is open to the outside through notch
16.
[0030] An insert 17 is for being positioned inside hole 14. A first
key 18 in hole 14 is engaged with a second key 19 on insert 17 to
radially align insert 17 within hole 14. In this example, first key
18 is comprised of a longitudinal groove in hole 14, and second key
19 is comprised of a longitudinal rib shaped to mate with groove
18. Alternatively, first key 18 may be a rib and second key 19 may
be a groove.
[0031] A third key 20 in hole 14 comprising a step is engaged with
a fourth key 21 on insert 17 comprising an oppositely shaped step
to limit the insertion of insert 17 to a proper depth, as shown in
FIG. 5. The keys enable resonance tube 11 to be easily
assembled.
[0032] The relative positions of the keys may vary. For example,
fourth key 21 on insert 17 may be flush with its inner end, and
third key 20 may be at the innermost position of insert 17.
[0033] An end view of the assembled resonance tube 11 is shown in
FIG. 6. Insert 17 includes a flat longitudinal portion 22 which is
spaced from a wall of hole 14 to define a channel 23 for passing
air between the outer end of hole 14 and notch 16.
[0034] The acoustic frequency is determined by the angle of notch
16, and the length of the resonance chamber defined between the
inner end of insert 17 and the inner end of hole 14. The frequency
is also determined by the hardness of the material of which
resonance tube 11 is made, wherein higher hardness provides higher
frequencies.
[0035] Resonance tube 11 has only two parts for simpler
manufacturing, and the two parts are preferably made of the same
recyclable material for easier recycling.
[0036] FIG. 7:
[0037] An alternative embodiment of the noisemaker is comprised of
an electronic transducer 24 driven by an oscillator 25, which is
activated by a pressure sensitive switch 26, such as a spring
loaded push button switch, which responds when bitten by the
dog.
[0038] FIG. 8:
[0039] An alternative air bladder 27 is shown in FIG. 8. It
includes a recess 28 wherein resonance tube 11 is positioned to
prevent resonance tube 11 from being dislodged. Recess 28 is
comprised of a notch in air bladder 27 in this example. Resonance
tube 11 is positioned with notch 16 facing but spaced away from a
wall of recess 28 to prevent it from being blocked.
[0040] FIG. 9:
[0041] An alternative air bladder 38 is shown in FIG. 9. It
includes a recess 30 wherein resonance tube 11 is positioned to
prevent resonance tube 11 from being dislodged or the notch in
resonance tube 11 from being blocked. Recess 30 is comprised of a
hole which is wider than resonance tube 11. The open inner end of
resonance tube 11 is communicably connected to air bladder 38.
[0042] FIG. 10:
[0043] Noisemaker 10 is shown in FIG. 10 embedded in a plush
covering 29.
[0044] Although the foregoing description is specific, it should
not be considered as a limitation on the scope of the invention,
but only as an example of the preferred embodiment. Many variations
are possible within the teachings of the invention. For example,
different attachment methods, fasteners, materials, dimensions,
etc. can be used unless specifically indicated otherwise. The
relative positions of the elements can vary, and the shapes of the
elements can vary. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be
determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, not
by the examples given.
* * * * *