Back to results
US 10,368,527 B2Granted
Animal litter
AssigneePioneer Pet Products, LLC
InventorsJohn M. Lipscomb, Scott Repinski
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneePioneer Pet Products, LLC
InventorsJohn M. Lipscomb, Scott Repinski
Estimating the term…
A litter and litter making method producing cat litter from a carbohydrate starch-containing cereal grain, e.g., corn, based admixture extruded from a single screw or twin screw extruder forming pellets having a clumping agent formed during extrusion composed at least in part of carbohydrate polymer binder. Each pellet is extruded under conditions that cause formation of carbohydrate polymer binder clumping agent at least some of which is water soluble. One preferred method of extruding cat litter causes starch dextrinization to occur such that at least some of the carbohydrate polymer binder clumping agent in each pellet is formed of dextrin. Each pellet can be coated such as with a smectite that preferably is bentonite. During use, pellet extrusion formed clumping agent in a pellet wetted with urine dissolves and flows in between and along adjacent pellets causing them to clump together without the presence of any clumping agent additive.
Animal litter comprised of a plurality of pairs of absorbent litter pellets extruded from a starch-containing mixture with each absorbent litter pellet comprising an exposed porous outer surface, the exposed porous outer surface including a binder formed from starch converted during pellet extrusion, wherein the binder is sufficient to clump absorbent litter pellets together when subsequently wetted after extrusion with water absorbed by the absorbent litter pellets.
Animal litter comprised of a plurality of pairs of absorbent litter pellets extruded from a starch-containing mixture with each absorbent litter pellet comprising an exposed porous outer surface and a volume defined within the exposed porous outer surface that is substantially devoid of clay, the exposed porous outer surface including a binder formed from starch converted during pellet extrusion, wherein the binder solubilizes in liquid in an amount sufficient to clump absorbent litter pellets together when subsequently wetted after extrusion with urine absorbed by the absorbent litter pellets with each one of the absorbent litter pellets adsorbing urea.
Animal litter comprised of a plurality of pairs of absorbent litter pellets extruded from a starch-containing mixture with each absorbent litter pellet comprising an exposed porous outer surface, the exposed porous outer surface including a binder formed from starch converted during pellet extrusion, the pellets having at least 5% binder by pellet weight that solubilizes in water clumping absorbent litter pellets together when subsequently wetted after extrusion with water with each one of the absorbent litter pellets having an oil absorbency of at least 1.25 grams of oil per gram of the oil absorbent litter pellets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.