US 12,239,092 B2
Waste receptacle
Simon Nicholls, Daventry (GB); James Tuthill, Oxford (GB); Johannes Paul, London (GB); and William Windham, Banbury (GB)
Assigned to HEBE STUDIO LTD, Wardington (GB)
Appl. No. 17/756,680
Filed by Hebe Studio Ltd., Wardington (GB)
PCT Filed Nov. 27, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/083656
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 31, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/110554, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 10, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 1917551 (GB), filed on Dec. 2, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0000051 A1, Jan. 5, 2023
Int. Cl. A01K 1/01 (2006.01)
CPC A01K 1/0107 (2013.01) 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
16. A waste receptacle for animal excreta, the waste receptacle comprising:
a base and at least one sidewall upstanding from the base, the base and the at least one sidewall co-operating to define a housing having an internal void, a periphery of the at least one sidewall remote from the base defining an opening to the void;
a planar platform support coupled to the at least one sidewall in the vicinity of the sidewall periphery;
a planar platform including a top upon which litter may be left, the planar platform supportable by the planar platform support to partly obstruct the opening, the planar platform comprising first and second planar platform parts that are pivotally coupled to one another, neighboring peripheral walls of the first and second planar platform parts each comprising a recess, the recess in the peripheral wall of the first planar platform part cooperating with the recess in the peripheral wall of the second planar platform part to define an access port for enabling an animal to access the internal void of the housing via the access port, the neighboring walls of the first and second planar platform parts being spaced from one another to provide a lateral gap between the first and second planar platform parts in a closed position, wherein the lateral gap extends from one lateral edge of the planar platform through the access port to an opposite lateral edge of the planar platform in the closed platform, such that litter on the planar platform can fall into the void through the gap or the port when one planar platform part is pivoted relative to the other, wherein pivoting one of the first planar platform part or the second planar platform part towards the other of the first planar platform part or the second planar platform part, from the closed position to an open position, causes the litter to fall towards the lateral gap between the first and second planar platform parts and the access port; and
a removable liner insertable into the internal housing void, the housing liner having a liner base and at least one liner sidewall supportable in use so as to be generally upstanding from the liner base, the liner base and the at least one liner sidewall cooperating to define an internal liner void for the receipt of animal litter; the liner further comprising a resiliently deformable member coupled to a portion of the liner sidewall distal from the liner base, the resiliently deformable member being configured to co-operate with the planar platform support when the liner is inserted into the internal housing void to support at least a portion of the liner so as to assist with the maintenance of the at least one liner sidewall in a generally upright configuration when the liner is installed in the receptacle.