GB2500632A

GB2500632A - Pet training mat

Info

Publication number: GB2500632A
Application number: GB1205386.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Barlow
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-03-27
Filing date: 2012-03-27
Publication date: 2013-10-02
Also published as: GB201205386D0

Abstract

A mat 1 for training pets to avoid specific areas. The mat comprises a surface for contacting upholstery or flooring 3 and a surface for contacting a pet 2, the two surfaces being oppositely orientated. The pet contacting surface comprises a plurality of nodules 5 to provide a discouragement stimulus to the pet to cause it to retreat. The surface for contacting upholstery is configured to resist displacement of said surface in response to contact by a pet on the pet contacting surface. Preferably this takes the form of a texture pattern on the surface providing recesses and raised sections 4, 2b. The mat is preferably made from a UV resistant material and has chamfered corners to prevent the pet from lifting up the mat. A method of using the mat to train a pet to avoid specific areas is also claimed

Description

A Furniture Mat The present invention relates to a mat for use on furniture to discourage pets from sitting on the furniture.

It is not uncommon for pets to want to jump up and sit on furniture, such an armchair or couch.

For some pet owners, this is undesirable and attempts are often made to train animals to correct this behaviour. Whilst this can be effective, pet compliance during an owner's absence cannot be monitored or controlled, which may in turn affect the ability to achieve the objective of successfully training the pet out of the habit of sitting on furniture. It will be appreciated that this habit is not only undesirable due to the likelihood of the pet depositing fur on the furniture, but furthermore, damage may occur to the furniture as a result of the pet jumping up and sitting on it.

Various methods have been employed to attempt to discourage this pet behaviour, including the use of chemical sprays on the furniture or area to be avoided and the use of electrified mats that deliver a low level electrical stimulus to the pet if it touches the mat. Repeated exposure to this electrical stimulus and/or chemical sprays over a period of time conditions the pet to avoid the area on which the mat is located, thus correcting the unwanted behaviour of jumping up and sitting on furniture.

Whilst the above methods may prove successful in achieving corrective behaviour, many pet owners may be reluctant to use chemical sprays on their furniture and in their homes and/or may be reluctant to subject their pets to electrical stimuli.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means of discouraging pets from jumping up and sitting on furniture or sitting in other undesirable locations, that avoids the use of chemicals or electrical stimuli.

Thus and in accordance with the present invention there is provided a mat for training pets to avoid specific areas, comprising a surface for contacting upholstery or flooring and a surface for contacting a pet, wherein the two surfaces are oppositely orientated and the surface for contacting upholstery is configured to resist displacement of said surface in response to contact by a pet on the pet contacting surface, and the pet contacting surface comprises a plurality of nodules distributed across said surface to provide a discomfort stimulus to the pet when it contacts the nodules, to cause the pet to retreat.

Preferably the mat comprises plastics and may further comprise at least one layer of plastics material.

Said layers are most preferably heat sealed to hold the layers together to form the mat and to prevent separation of the layers.

The mat may further comprise a skeleton comprising nylon or other such suitable materials to which the plastic may be applied to form one or more layers. Said skeleton provides the basic structure of the mat to which the plastic is added and furthermore assists in strengthening the mat and improving its resilience and flexibility.

The mat may further comprise a bevelled or chamfered edge to soften the edge of the mat to minimise the likelihood of a pet being able to displace the mat by lifting the edge of the mat with its teeth.

The mat preferably comprises on one side a non slip or friction-inducing surface for placement against furniture or upholstery or even a floor, to enable the mat to resist displacement when the pet jumps onto the mat.

Said non-slip or friction-inducing surface may comprise a profile configuration, such as for example alternately raised chequerboard-like squares. Said profile configuration may be formed using embossing or other such suitable methods.

Said non-slip or friction-inducing surface may also be formed using a skeleton of nylon mesh, arranged in a chequerboard-like arrangement having alternate squares of nylon mesh arranged in sheet form, to which plastics can be applied to form a non-slip or friction-inducing layer. The squares comprising nylon mesh preferably expand more than the squares without nylon mesh, when the plastics is applied, thus creating the profile configuration comprising raised and recessed portions.

The mat preferably comprises on another side a low friction surface for contacting with a pet. The low friction surface preferably comprises a smooth surface having a plurality of raised nodules dispersed across the entirety of the surface.

Most preferably, said non-slip surface and said low-friction surface are oppositely orientated such that one side may contact the upholstery or other area to be avoided and the other side may contact the pet.

Said raised nodules are preferably conically shaped with a rounded tip, to resist deformation in response to the weight of a pet being placed upon them and also to substantially minimise the risk of any injury or pain to the pet or its owner when using or handling the mat.

Said raised nodules are preferably of a suitable size to cause a low level of discomfort to the pet when the pet places its paws on the nodules, but not large enough to cause injury to the pet's paws and/or eyes if the pet's face comes into contact with the mat.

The mat may be formed in a layer construction with the first layer comprising a nylon skeleton, a second layer comprising plastics and having a non-slip or friction surface on at least one side, and a third layer comprising a smooth surface having a plurality of nodules arranged across the smooth surface.

The mat preferably comprises non-toxic material, example non-toxic plastics, that is resistant to chewing or damage inflicted by animal paws.

The mat is also preferably flexible such that it is capable of being used in conjunction with curved surfaces, such as cushions, as well as flat surfaces such as chairs.

The mat most preferably comprises materials that allow the transmission of Ultra-Violet (UV) rays, in order that, when the mat is placed on furniture and exposed to UV radiation such as sunlight which is likely to cause photodegredation (fading) of the upholstery, said fading occurs evenly on all areas of the furniture, irrespective of whether the mat is covering it or not.

The mat is also preferably easy to clean, liquid repellent and resistant to build up of debris on any surface of the mat.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figure 1 shows a top view of an embodiment of the mat illustrating both sides of the mat; the pet contacting surface facing uppermost. with the friction surface facing downwards and; Figure 2 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of the mat comprising a nylon mesh skeleton and plastics layer configuration and; Figure 3 shows a side view of an embodiment of the mat and; Figure 4 shows the mat on a piece of furniture, illustrating the pet contacting surface uppermost, with the friction surface facing downwards and contacting the upholstery of the furniture.

Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown a view of the mat 1 illustrating both sides; the pet contacting surface 2 facing uppermost and the friction surface 3 facing downwards, but visible on the "peeled back" corner. It is to be appreciated that the "peeled back" corner is for illustrative purposes only and intended to show the underside of the mat 1 and that in its normal arrangement, the mat 1 is intended to be placed substantially flat upon the surface of choice, such as a piece of furniture.

In the present embodiment, the mat 1 comprises a nylon mesh skeleton 2 that is in sheet form as illustrated in Figure 2. The mesh skeleton 2 is formed by a plurality of spaced apart and substantially parallel lengths of nylon cord 2a. Said lengths of nylon cord 2a are connected by weaving strands of nylon cord at intervals between two adjacent lengths of nylon cord 2a so as to form a chequerboard like arrangement of woven squares 2b which connect the substantially parallel lengths of nylon cord 2a to form a sheet of nylon mesh 2.

The nylon mesh skeleton 2 provides a base to which liquid plastics 3 is applied during construction of the mat 1. This liquid plastics 3 coats the nylon mesh skeleton 2 and engulfs it before setting to form a hard yet flexible layer around the nylon mesh skeleton 2.

During setting, the liquid plastics conforms to the shape and configuration of the mesh skeleton 2. Furthermore, additional texture is created using a heat-stamping process which imprints a textured pattern 4 into the plastics layer 3. Said imprinted textured pattern 4 is formed in a chequerboard-like arrangement, having alternately arranged imprinted textured pattern 4 and woven squares 2b. The heat-stamping process creates a chequerboard-like profile arrangement of alternately raised squares of plastics as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

The plastic-filled squares comprising woven nylon 2b are raised in relation to the imprinted textured pattern 4 squares and further, comprise a higher friction surface finish as compared to the imprinted textured pattern 4 squares. This creates additional friction and grip of the mat 1 when it is placed against upholstery, thus securing it to the surface of the upholstery and resisting displacement in the event that a pet jumps onto the mat 1.

The imprinted textured pattern 4 squares further enhance stability of the mat ion upholstery as these recessed squares are able to accommodate fabric of the upholstery, which provides additional grip with which the mat 1 can resist displacement during use.

It is to be appreciated that the purpose of the profile arrangement of the mat 1 as described above is to minimise displacement of the mat 1 during use and the invention is not intended to be restricted to the profile arrangement as described above. The same effect may be achieved using other profile configurations and/or alternative materials without departing from the scope of invention as described herein. Similarly, alternative methods of construction may be employed to create the mat 1, the construction of which is not intended to be restricted to heat stamping, which is described by way of example only.

The pet contacting surface 2 of the mat 1 is created using plastics moulded into a sheet formation. The pet contacting surface 2 further comprises a plurality of nodules 5, distributed across the surface of the pet contacting surface 2.

Said nodules 5 comprise a substantially conical shape with a rounded tip. In the present embodiment, the nodules 5 are most optimally approximately 3mm from the base to the tip. This size provides an effective pet deterrent, whilst being small enough to prevent eye damage in the event that a pet places their face in close proximity to the mat 1. Furthermore, the rounded tip of each nodule 5 ensures that the pet's paws are not injured when the paws come into contact with the surface 2 of the mat 1. In the present embodiment, said nodules 5 are spaced at approximately 1 inch intervals across the surface 2 of the mat 1.

The layers comprising the mat 1 are further sealed together around the periphery using heat sealing which compresses the edges together to complete the seal. This creates a bevelled or chamfered edge 6 which assists in reducing the depth of the mat 1 at the edges 6 and thus "blending" the edges 6 into the furniture and making it much more difficult for a pet to lift the edges 6 of the mat 1 with its teeth and thus displace the mat 1.

It will be appreciated that other methods of sealing the edges 6 of the mat 1 may be employed aside from heat sealing, without departing from the scope of invention as described herein.

The mat 1 is typically placed onto a piece of furniture 7 as illustrated in Figure 4. When a pet jumps up onto the furniture 7, it contacts the nodules 5 disposed on the uppermost surface 2 of the mat 1, primarily with the underside of its paws. As the weight of the pet is transferred through its paws. this causes the nodules to press into the paws very slightly, thus creating an uncomfortable sensation which encourages the pet to jump back off the furniture 7. Over time, the pet learns this reaction to jumping up onto the furniture 7 through progressive conditioning and accordingly, its behaviour is modified which can eventually result in prevention of the pet jumping up onto the furniture 7.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the mat 1 can be employed as a method of training a pet to avoid sitting on furniture or a particular area, by placing the mat 1 on areas to be avoided and thus progressively conditioningthe pet to refrain from sitting on said furniture or particular areas.

Furthermore, training a pet using the mat 1 as described may also alleviate symptoms of territorial aggression, as the mat 1 can be placed in any area over which the pet exhibits territorial aggression, to gradually condition the pet to avoid the area and thus reduce the territorially induced aggression.

During this progressive behavioural conditioning, it is still possible for the pet owner to quickly and easily move the mat 1 so that they may use the furniture as the mat 1 and furniture 7 are not fixed to eachother. However, whilst not being fixed, due to the construction of the underside 3 of the mat as previously discussed, the mat does not displace on the furniture 7 when the pet jumps on and off it.

Furthermore, the mat 1 comprises UV-lucent material which enables the mat 1 to be left on furniture 7 if desired, without the risk of uneven fading (photodegradation) of the upholstery over a period of time.

It is of course to be appreciated that the present invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the embodiments described herein, which are described by way of example only.

Claims

Claims 1. A mat for training pets to avoid specific areas, comprising a surface for contacting upholstery or flooring and a surface for contacting a pet, wherein the two surfaces are oppositely orientated and the surface for contacting upholstery is configured to resist displacement of said surface in response to contact by a pet on the pet contacting surface, and the pet contacting surface comprises a plurality of nodules distributed across said surface to provide a discouragement stimulus to the pet when it contacts the nodules. to cause the pet to retreat.
2. A mat in accordance with Claim 1 wherein the surface for contacting upholstery comprises slip resistant materials to prevent displacement of the mat during use.
3. A mat in accordance with either Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the surface for contacting upholstery comprises a profiled surface having a plurality of raised and recessed portions capable of engaging with the upholstery to prevent displacement of the mat during use.
4. A mat in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the pet contacting surface comprises a plurality of nodules each having a conical configuration with a rounded tip for encouraging a pet to retreat from the mat.
5. A mat in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the periphery of the mat is configured to prevent a pet from lifting the edges of the mat.
6. A mat in accordance with Claim 5 wherein the periphery of the mat comprises a chamfered edge.
7. A mat in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the mat comprises materials transparent to ultra-violet radiation.
8. A mat substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
9. A method of training a pet to avoid specific areas wherein the method comprises use of a mat constructed in accordance with any of Claims 1 to 8, to provide discouragement stimuli over a period of time to progressively condition the pet to avoid said areas.