GB2361182A

GB2361182A - Walking stick with excrement collector

Info

Publication number: GB2361182A
Application number: GB0109408A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Slattery
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-04-14
Filing date: 2001-04-17
Publication date: 2001-10-17
Also published as: GB0109408D0

Abstract

A walking stick is combined with an excrement collector in the form of a projecting scoop 4 with a spring-loaded lid 5 which is operated by applying weight to the stick. The stick may include the usual ferrule and the device may be made of aluminium or plastic material.

Description

1 2361182 1 MULTIFUNCTION WALKING DEVICE 2 3 The present invention relates

to a walking stick and more 4 specifically a walking stick which helps collect dog excreta.

6 7 A common problem associated with pet animals, and 8 particularly canines, is that they deposit mess in public 9 places such as parks, streets and gardens. The resulting 10 health hazard and environmental nuisance associated with 11 this problem has lead to the pet owner being required by 12 law to remove the mess. 13 14 Due to the unpleasant and unhygienic nature of pet wast owners require a convenient and hygienic method of 16 disposing of it. 17 18 19 20 21 The most obvious method of removing the pet waste is by way of a spade. However a spade is a heavy and cumbersome object to have to carry each time one walks a pet.

2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 It would therefore be beneficial to combine a walking 19 stick and a mess collection tool for the pet owner. An 20 object of the present invention therefore is to provide 21 suitable means for combining such devices.

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 There are now many different so called "poop scoop" devices available which have a plastic and disposable bag. Many dog owners are getting into the habit of carrying such a device. When the dog has fouled an area the owner is required to collect the mess and dispose of it in a bin, however dedicated mess collection devices can also be bulky and are reported to be rather inefficient as they often become covered in mess making them unpleasant to carry.

The present invention recognises that many pet owners carry a walking stick whilst walking their dog, particularly the elderly. Even those who do not typically require a walking stick, may find it helpful if a mess collecting device provided assistance or support when walking.

A further object of invention is to provide a mess collection tool which enables pet owners to clean up their dog's mess without coming into contact with the excrement.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a multifunction walking stick which is easy to carry and will support the user whilst walking outside.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a multifunctional walking stick with a device for the hygienic collection of dog excrement without the risk of contamination for the user.

3 1 A further object of the present invention is to provide a 2 multifunction walking stick which is easy to manufacture 3 at a low cost. 4 5 According to the present invention there is provided a 6 multi function walking aid, the walking aid providing a 7 means for assisting or supporting a user while walking, 8 characterised in that the walking aid further comprises 9 mess collection means for collecting an animal's 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 is 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 excrement.

Preferably, the walking aid is in the form of a walking stick, comprising a shaft and a handle.

Preferably, the mess collection means includes the scoop to enable a user to remove waste matter from the ground, wherein the scoop is provided at a lower and opposite end of the shaft to the handle, and wherein the mess collection means may further comprise a lid which coorindates with the scoop, wherein the lid is attached to said scoop by a spring loaded hinge, wherein the lid can pivot into an open for the collection of mess and is biased towards a closed position once any mess has been collected.

Typically, the walking aid is made of light weight materials for easy carrying.

Preferably, said shaft is made of aluminium.

Typically, said scooping means has a flat front to enable easy collection of the pet mess and a raised and tapered rear portion so as to retain the lifted waste within the scoop.

4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Typically, a short section of the shaft protrudes through 8 the said scooping means and is exposed beneath it coming 9 into contact with the ground when weight is placed on the 10 walking stick.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a multifunction 24 walking stick 1, comprising a shaft 2, with a handle 3 at 25 one end and a mess collection means, comprising a 26 scooping means 4 with co-ordinating lid 5, attached to 27 the other. A small section of the shaft 2 protrudes 28 through the scooping means 4 to which there is attached a 29 30 31 32 33 34 Optionally, the front end of the scooping means has a bevelled edge.

Preferably, said mess collection means is substantially made from plastic.

Optionally, the exposed end of the shaft is protected from wear by way of a stopper.

Preferably, said stopper is made from a hard wearing material such as rubber.

An example embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings in which Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a multifunction walking stick.

stopper 6.

The walking stick also comprises a spring loaded hinge 7, which is positioned towards the bottom of the shaft 2 and above the lid 5 of the mess collection means.

1 In order to use the device 1 as a walking stick it is 2 held by the handle 3 and the stopper 6 is placed on the ground. As the user applies weight to the walking stick 1 compression of the spring loaded hinge 7 pivots the lid 5 upwards into an open position.

3 4 5 6 7 To lift the animal mess, the front of the scooping means 8 4 is positioned underneath the mess and a simple scooping 9 action is sufficient to remove the waste matter and the 10 mess can then be disposed of in a bin. 11 12 The lid 5 is returned to the closed position by applying 13 weight to walking stick 1 to compress the spring loaded 14 hinge 7 thereby lowering the lid 5 onto the scooping means 4.

16 17 Provision of a long shaft 2 means that the user's hands 18 are never close to the dog mess thereby ensuring that the 19 chore of cleaning up the mess is not unpleasant.

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 One important advantage of such an animal mess disposal device is that the owner does not have to bend or lean forward in any way and is therefore particularly useful for elderly users as the scooping means is permanently attached to the walking stick the user has the other hand free to a dog lead or the like. It is clearly a convenient and easy way to carry a dog waste scooping device.

The device can also be made in a variety of sizes for users of different height.

It should be understood in the present invention that the mess collection means does not require to be in the form of a scoop, as described in the example embodiment. The 6 2 3 1 invention should be understood to involve any device which may be used as a walking aid and acts, in combination, to provide a means for collecting animal 4 mess. 5 6 7 Further modifications and improvements may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the 8 invention herein intended.

7

Claims

1 Claims

2 3 1 A multi-function walking aid, the walking aid 4 providing a means for assisting or supporting a user while walking, characterised in that the walking aid 6 further comprises mess collection means for 7 collecting an animal's excrement.

8 9 2. A multi-function walking aid as claimed in Claim 1 in the form of a walking stick, comprising a shaft 11 and a handle.

12 13 3. A multi-function walking aid as claimed in Claim 1 14 or 2 wherein the mess collection means includes a 15 scoop to enable a user to remove waste matter from 16 the ground, wherein the scoop is provided at a lower 17 and opposite end of the shaft to the handle. 18 19 4. A multi-function walking aid as described in Claim 3 wherein the mess collection means may further 21 comprise of a lid which co-ordinates with the scoop 22 wherein the lid is attached to said scoop by a 23 spring-loaded hinge and wherein the lid can pivot 24 into an open position for the collection of mess and 25 is biased towards a closed position once any mess 26 has been collected. 27 28 5. A multi-function walking aid as described in Claims 29 3 and 4 wherein said scooping means has a flat front 30 to enable easy collection of the pet mess and a 31 raised and tapered rear portion so as to retain the 32 lift and waste within the scoop. 33 34 6. A multifunction walking aid as described in Claims 3 to 5 wherein the front end of the scooping means 8 1 2 3 7. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 9. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 has a bevelled edge.

A multi-function walking aid as described in Claims 3 to 6 wherein a short section of the shaft protrudes through the scooping means and is exposed beneath it coming into contact with the ground when weight is placed on the walking stick.

8. A multi-function walking aid as described in Claim 7 wherein the exposed end of the shaft is protected from wear by way of a stopper.

A multi-function walking aid as described in Claim 8 wherein the said stopper is made from hard wearing material such as rubber.

10. A multi-function walking aid as described in any of the previous Claims wherein the walking aid is made of a lightweight material.

11. A multi-function walking aid as described in Claim 10 wherein the lightweight material is aluminium.

12. A multi-function walking aid as described in Claim 10 wherein the lightweight material is plastic.