Stackable pet shelter

#1. Field of the Invention

#The invention relates to pet enclosures that are readily stackable so as to occupy as little retail space as possible. More particularly, the pet shelter includes a top section and a bottom section, and both the top and bottom sections fit snugly within each other when one section is inverted.

#2. Description of the Related Art

#The preferred embodiments of the stackable pet shelter, illustrating its features, will now be discussed in detail. These embodiments depict the novel and non-obvious stackable pet shelter shown in the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only. These drawings include the following figures, in which like numerals indicate like parts:

#FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the stackable pet shelter;

#FIGS. 2a-2c are, respectively, front elevational, right-side elevational and top plan views of the stackable pet shelter of FIG. 1;

#As FIG. 1 illustrates, a preferred embodiment of the stackable pet shelter 10 includes a hollow, substantially rectangular box with a substantially rectangular opening 12 in a front wall 14. One of skill in the art will appreciate, however, that the shelter 10 may include any number of sides or curved surfaces. The shelter 10 may, for example, be substantially triangular in plan aspect, hexagonal, octagonal or even round.

#The shelter 10 is preferably constructed of a high-impact plastic, or another material that is lightweight and durable such as wood or fiberglass. The shelter 10 is constructed of two sections, a top section 16 and a bottom section 18. Both the top and bottom sections are shaped substantially as rectangular boxes with one missing side, and a substantially U-shaped opening in a side adjacent to the missing side. FIG. 3 illustrates the bottom section 18 in isolation.

#The top and bottom sections of the shelter may be secured to one another with tab and slot connectors. Generally horizontally extending tabs 20 (FIGS. 3, 4b and 5b) on a back upper edge 21 of the bottom section 18 mate with generally horizontally oriented slots (not shown) on a back lower edge 23 (FIG. 5b) of the top section 16. Generally vertically extending tabs 25 (FIG. 5a) on a front lower edge 27 of the top section 16 mate with generally vertically oriented slots 29 (FIG. 3) on a front upper edge 31 of the bottom section 18. In profile, the tabs 25 resemble an arrowhead that has been bisected lengthwise. Thus, a narrow leading portion of each tab 25 is able to penetrate a slot 29. Once the tab 25 advances through the slot 29 past a shoulder portion, the tab 25 snaps into place and can only be removed from the slot 29 by deforming the slot 29.