US20050136790A1 - Ultrasonic toy for animals - Google Patents
Ultrasonic toy for animals Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20050136790A1 US20050136790A1 US10/739,663 US73966303A US2005136790A1 US 20050136790 A1 US20050136790 A1 US 20050136790A1 US 73966303 A US73966303 A US 73966303A US 2005136790 A1 US2005136790 A1 US 2005136790A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- ultrasonic
- animals
- toy
- hole
- resonance tube
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
- G10K—SOUND-PRODUCING DEVICES; METHODS OR DEVICES FOR PROTECTING AGAINST, OR FOR DAMPING, NOISE OR OTHER ACOUSTIC WAVES IN GENERAL; ACOUSTICS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G10K5/00—Whistles
- G10K5/02—Ultrasonic whistles
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01K—ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; CARE OF BIRDS, FISHES, INSECTS; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
- A01K15/00—Devices for taming animals, e.g. nose-rings or hobbles; Devices for overturning animals in general; Training or exercising equipment; Covering boxes
- A01K15/02—Training or exercising equipment, e.g. mazes or labyrinths for animals ; Electric shock devices ; Toys specially adapted for animals
- A01K15/025—Toys specially adapted 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.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The invention broadly relates to sound producing toys for animals and ultrasonic sound producing devices.
- 2. Prior Art
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The objects of the present ultrasonic toy for animals are:
-
- to produce ultrasonic noise which is audible to animals;
- to produce ultrasonic noise which is inaudible to humans to avoid annoying people;
- to produce noise levels low enough to avoid being aversive, frightening or harmful to animals; and
- to be easier to manufacture and recycle.
- 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.
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ultrasonic toy for animals. -
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 inFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of a noisemaker of the ultrasonic toy for animals. -
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 inFIG. 3 . -
FIG. 5 shows the noisemaker ofFIG. 4 assembled. -
FIG. 6 is an end view of the noisemaker ofFIG. 5 . -
FIG. 7 shows an electronic noisemaker. -
FIG. 8 shows an alternative airbladder. -
FIG. 9 shows an alternative air bladder. -
FIG. 10 shows the noisemaker in a plush covering. -
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 - FIGS. 1-2:
- A preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic toy for animals shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2 is comprised of anoisemaker 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. - In this example,
noisemaker 10 is comprised of aresonance tube 11 attached to a hollowresilient air bladder 12, which may be of any shape. When a dog bites onair bladder 12, air is forced out throughresonance tube 11 to produce ultrasonic noise. The desired noise level of about 30 to 70 dB is measured at about 6 inches fromresonance tube 11.Noisemaker 10 may be used alone, or it may be positioned inside a covering, such as a plush toy. - FIGS. 3-6:
- An exploded view of
resonance tube 11 is shown inFIGS. 3-4 . It includes a closedouter end 13, and anaxial hole 14 open to aninner end 15. A noise emittingtriangular notch 16 is positioned on a side ofresonance tube 11 in communication withhole 14, so that the inner end ofhole 14 is open to the outside throughnotch 16. - An
insert 17 is for being positioned insidehole 14. A first key 18 inhole 14 is engaged with a second key 19 oninsert 17 to radially aligninsert 17 withinhole 14. In this example, first key 18 is comprised of a longitudinal groove inhole 14, and second key 19 is comprised of a longitudinal rib shaped to mate withgroove 18. Alternatively, first key 18 may be a rib and second key 19 may be a groove. - A third key 20 in
hole 14 comprising a step is engaged with a fourth key 21 oninsert 17 comprising an oppositely shaped step to limit the insertion ofinsert 17 to a proper depth, as shown inFIG. 5 . The keys enableresonance tube 11 to be easily assembled. - 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 ofinsert 17. - An end view of the assembled
resonance tube 11 is shown inFIG. 6 .Insert 17 includes a flat longitudinal portion 22 which is spaced from a wall ofhole 14 to define a channel 23 for passing air between the outer end ofhole 14 andnotch 16. - The acoustic frequency is determined by the angle of
notch 16, and the length of the resonance chamber defined between the inner end ofinsert 17 and the inner end ofhole 14. The frequency is also determined by the hardness of the material of whichresonance tube 11 is made, wherein higher hardness provides higher frequencies. -
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. -
FIG. 7 : - An alternative embodiment of the noisemaker is comprised of an
electronic transducer 24 driven by anoscillator 25, which is activated by a pressuresensitive switch 26, such as a spring loaded push button switch, which responds when bitten by the dog. -
FIG. 8 : - An
alternative air bladder 27 is shown inFIG. 8 . It includes arecess 28 whereinresonance tube 11 is positioned to preventresonance tube 11 from being dislodged.Recess 28 is comprised of a notch inair bladder 27 in this example.Resonance tube 11 is positioned withnotch 16 facing but spaced away from a wall ofrecess 28 to prevent it from being blocked. -
FIG. 9 : - An
alternative air bladder 38 is shown inFIG. 9 . It includes arecess 30 whereinresonance tube 11 is positioned to preventresonance tube 11 from being dislodged or the notch inresonance tube 11 from being blocked.Recess 30 is comprised of a hole which is wider thanresonance tube 11. The open inner end ofresonance tube 11 is communicably connected toair bladder 38. -
FIG. 10 : -
Noisemaker 10 is shown inFIG. 10 embedded in aplush covering 29. - 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.
Claims (16)
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.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/739,663 US20050136790A1 (en) | 2003-12-18 | 2003-12-18 | Ultrasonic toy for animals |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/739,663 US20050136790A1 (en) | 2003-12-18 | 2003-12-18 | Ultrasonic toy for animals |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20050136790A1 true US20050136790A1 (en) | 2005-06-23 |
Family
ID=34677669
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/739,663 Abandoned US20050136790A1 (en) | 2003-12-18 | 2003-12-18 | Ultrasonic toy for animals |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20050136790A1 (en) |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080011242A1 (en) * | 2006-07-11 | 2008-01-17 | Multipet International | Dog-shaped pet toy |
US20090205579A1 (en) * | 2008-02-14 | 2009-08-20 | Multipet International | Pet toy |
US20110048338A1 (en) * | 2009-08-27 | 2011-03-03 | Tuff Enuff Pet Products, LLC | Pet Toy |
US20110048337A1 (en) * | 2009-08-27 | 2011-03-03 | Tuff Enuff Pet Products, LLC | Pet Toy |
US9004010B2 (en) | 2012-07-31 | 2015-04-14 | Lucid Designs Llc | Ultrasonic noise device |
US20230389520A1 (en) * | 2022-06-02 | 2023-12-07 | Bencoo, Inc. DBA ZippyPaws | Pet Toy and Sound Generator |
Citations (12)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2245484A (en) * | 1940-11-01 | 1941-06-10 | Robbins Co | Dog whistle |
US2715192A (en) * | 1953-12-03 | 1955-08-09 | American District Telegraph Co | Transducer |
US3072097A (en) * | 1960-11-18 | 1963-01-08 | Charles A Morchand | Animal training device |
US3277861A (en) * | 1964-10-26 | 1966-10-11 | Peavey Co | Method and apparatus for repelling rodents and other undesirable animals |
US4595200A (en) * | 1983-06-21 | 1986-06-17 | Molten Corporation | Sound emitting ball |
US4780706A (en) * | 1987-03-05 | 1988-10-25 | Naomi Bollag | Pet or infant training device and method |
US5351653A (en) * | 1992-09-16 | 1994-10-04 | Canine Concepts, Incorporated | Animal training method using positive and negative audio stimuli |
US5560320A (en) * | 1995-03-31 | 1996-10-01 | Pet Avenue, Inc. | Play and chew toy for dogs |
US5575240A (en) * | 1995-07-18 | 1996-11-19 | Udelle; Steven D. | Animal attracting sound producing ball |
US5816885A (en) * | 1997-02-05 | 1998-10-06 | Tiger Electronics, Ltd. | Deformable sound-generating electronic toy |
US6216640B1 (en) * | 1998-10-09 | 2001-04-17 | Ethical Products, Inc. | Pet toy |
US20020129774A1 (en) * | 2000-10-20 | 2002-09-19 | Ned Strongin | Dog bone toy with variable sound emitters |
-
2003
- 2003-12-18 US US10/739,663 patent/US20050136790A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (12)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2245484A (en) * | 1940-11-01 | 1941-06-10 | Robbins Co | Dog whistle |
US2715192A (en) * | 1953-12-03 | 1955-08-09 | American District Telegraph Co | Transducer |
US3072097A (en) * | 1960-11-18 | 1963-01-08 | Charles A Morchand | Animal training device |
US3277861A (en) * | 1964-10-26 | 1966-10-11 | Peavey Co | Method and apparatus for repelling rodents and other undesirable animals |
US4595200A (en) * | 1983-06-21 | 1986-06-17 | Molten Corporation | Sound emitting ball |
US4780706A (en) * | 1987-03-05 | 1988-10-25 | Naomi Bollag | Pet or infant training device and method |
US5351653A (en) * | 1992-09-16 | 1994-10-04 | Canine Concepts, Incorporated | Animal training method using positive and negative audio stimuli |
US5560320A (en) * | 1995-03-31 | 1996-10-01 | Pet Avenue, Inc. | Play and chew toy for dogs |
US5575240A (en) * | 1995-07-18 | 1996-11-19 | Udelle; Steven D. | Animal attracting sound producing ball |
US5816885A (en) * | 1997-02-05 | 1998-10-06 | Tiger Electronics, Ltd. | Deformable sound-generating electronic toy |
US6216640B1 (en) * | 1998-10-09 | 2001-04-17 | Ethical Products, Inc. | Pet toy |
US20020129774A1 (en) * | 2000-10-20 | 2002-09-19 | Ned Strongin | Dog bone toy with variable sound emitters |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080011242A1 (en) * | 2006-07-11 | 2008-01-17 | Multipet International | Dog-shaped pet toy |
US20090205579A1 (en) * | 2008-02-14 | 2009-08-20 | Multipet International | Pet toy |
US20110048338A1 (en) * | 2009-08-27 | 2011-03-03 | Tuff Enuff Pet Products, LLC | Pet Toy |
US20110048337A1 (en) * | 2009-08-27 | 2011-03-03 | Tuff Enuff Pet Products, LLC | Pet Toy |
US7950352B2 (en) * | 2009-08-27 | 2011-05-31 | Sj Assets, Llc | Pet toy |
US8186309B2 (en) | 2009-08-27 | 2012-05-29 | Sj Assets, Llc | Pet toy |
US9004010B2 (en) | 2012-07-31 | 2015-04-14 | Lucid Designs Llc | Ultrasonic noise device |
US20230389520A1 (en) * | 2022-06-02 | 2023-12-07 | Bencoo, Inc. DBA ZippyPaws | Pet Toy and Sound Generator |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |