PET WASTE SCOOPING DEVICE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Patent Application 11/497,450 filed 01 August 2006. TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to devices for scooping up materials from the ground and, more particularly, to devices for scooping up pet waste or animal waste.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Existing devices for scooping up animal or pet waste provide ways of efficiently and conveniently picking up and disposing of pet waste in a convenient manner. Certain devices facilitate the function of placing the waste into trash bags or similar disposable receptacles. It is particularly challenging to get such existing devices to work well in that bags are subject to tearing or mis-feeding, or the bags interfere with the scooping shovel elements, and other problems.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a convenient, durable, and optimally performing scooping device for picking up and disposing of animal waste. This object and others are achieved by the present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention achieves the above-mentioned objects by utilizing a pick-up and disposal device having a pair pivoting shovel portions joined to a shaft having a handle end. The shaft and handle end are provided with an actuator mechanism that is configured for one-handed operation and that is used to selectively open and close the shovel jaws. A roll of disposal bags is attached inside the junction of the shovel jaws in a manner in which a single bag at a time can be dispensed over the shovel jaws so that waste can be retrieved directly into the bag. The bag is initially folded back and over the jaws and, after retrieval of waste, the bag is folded forward off of the jaws and tied off, so that the waste is enclosed in the tied bag. The bag is severed from the roll of bags at pre-

existing perforations. An additional aspect of the invention includes a clip for attaching light such as a flashlight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial, perspective view of a device according to a first embodiment of the present invention showing jaws in an opened position.

FIG. 5 is a partial, side view of a device according to a first embodiment of the present invention showing jaws in an opened position.

FIG. 6 is a partial, side view of a device according to a first embodiment of the present invention showing jaws in a closed position with a bag folded back.

FIG. 7 is a partial, side view of a device according to a first embodiment of the present invention showing jaws in a closed position with a bag folded forward.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a bag according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A pick-up and disposal device (10) according to the present invention comprises a handle portion (11), a sliding trigger (12) mounted slidably in the handle portion (11), a shaft portion (13) connected to the handle portion (11), and a head portion (14) connected to the handle portion (11) and comprising a yoke (15) pivotally supporting a first jaw (16) and a second jaw (17). A moveable jaw actuating member (18) slides within the shaft portion (13) to move the jaws (16, 17) in pivotal fashion. Each jaw (16, 17) is provided with teeth-like rake members (19, 20) having slots (21 , 22) therein. A flashlight mount (23) is provided to selectively and releasably mount a flashlight (24) to the shaft portion (13).

The device (10) may be used with or without a disposable plastic bag such as the bag (25). When a bag (25) is mounted over the jaws (16, 17) as shown in Figs. 5 - 7, an object (26), such as pet waste, can be captured by the jaws (16, 17) as shown in Fig. 6 so that the bag (25) can be slid off of the jaws (16, 17) as shown in Fig. 7 leaving the object (26) held within the jaws (16, 17) until the user selectively removes the bag (25) as shown in Fig. 8, with the object (26) contained therein. The jaws (16, 17) are actuated selectively by the user grasping and pulling the trigger (12) to move the actuating member (18). The actuating member (18) interacts with internal linkages (not shown) of a type generally known so that the jaws (16, 17) will selectively pivot in response to the trigger (12) being pulled against a spring (not shown). The other end of the actuating member (18) is connected to the trigger (12). The jaws (16, 17) are preferably arranged so that a spring bias on the trigger (12) maintains them in a default closed position such as shown in Fig. 6 until the trigger (12) is pulled toward the distal end of the handle portion (11 ).

The rake members (19, 20) and the slots (21, 22) facilitate scooping or picking up objects such as pet waste when the object is in grass or another non- smooth surface. For example, the rake members (19, 20) and slots (21 , 22) can comb through tall grass. Another function of the rake members (19, 20) and slots (21 , 22) is to enable a portion of a bag (25) to extend out of the closed jaws (16, 17) through the slots (21 , 22) or gaps between the rake members (19, 20) as shown in Fig. 7 so that the object (26) will remain enclosed in the jaws (16, 17) while the bag (25) is pulled or tied shut.

A set of bags such as the bag (25) may be arranged in a roll for tear-away use and the roll may be mounted inside the two jaws (16, 17) near the portions of the jaws that pivotally connect to the yoke (15). Thus, as a bag is used and removed from the jaws, a new one can conveniently be unrolled and folded over the jaws to the position shown in Figs. 5 - 6.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown and described herein, various modification can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.