# US 8,739,738 B2 · Pet toy > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,739,738 B2 - Document ID: US8739738B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 12/529,968 - Filed: 2007-03-05 - Published: 2010-04-22 - Granted: 2014-06-03 - Earliest claimed: 2007-03-05 - Assignees: Kyoritsu Shokai Ltd. - Applicants: Nobuhiko Kuwa - Inventors: Nobuhiko Kuwa - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8739738B2 ## CPC - A01K 15/025: {Toys specially adapted for animals} - A01K 5/0114: {Pet food dispensers; Pet food trays (time-controlled A01K5/0291)} - A01K: ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS ## Abstract An object of the present invention is to provide a pet toy designed compatibly both to allow cleaning inside the toy as well as introducing and removing the food into/from the pet toy to be performed by a user in a significantly easy manner and to make the animal to be continuously engaged by the toy for a long time. A pet toy 1 has a flexible and axially flat body formed with a cavity disposed inside thereof that can accommodate an amount of food for an animal. The body comprises: a lateral band portion 3 defining an outer perimeter of an axially central part of the body; a first and a second coverings 4 and 5, each extending in the axial direction from the lateral band portion; and a slit 2 formed in the lateral band portion 3 so as to communicate with the cavity. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A pet toy comprising a flexible body formed with a cavity disposed inside that can accommodate an amount of food for an animal, in which said body comprises: a flattened shape where an entire length in an axial direction is shorter than an entire length in a radial direction; a lateral band portion defining an outer perimeter in the radial direction; a first covering and a second covering, each extending in the axial direction from said lateral band portion; a slit formed in said lateral band portion so as to extend in the radial direction and communicate with said cavity; first thin-walled areas formed respectively in regions of the lateral band portion proximal to said slit, an outer wall thickness of each of the first thin-walled areas being thinner than an outer wall thickness of any other region of the lateral band portion, and second thin-walled areas formed respectively in regions of the first covering and the second covering which are proximal to said slit, and outer wall thickness of each of the second thin-walled areas being thinner than an outer wall thickness of any other region of the first covering and the second covering, wherein the outer wall thickness of the first thin-walled areas and the second thin-walled areas facilitate opening of the slit as a force is applied to opposing ends of the slit in the radial direction. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which said lateral band portion and said first covering and said second covering are integrally formed. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which said lateral band portion has a substantially circular profile as viewed in the axial direction. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which a length of said slit ranges between about 25% and about 40% of the fuller outer perimeter of said lateral band portion. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which each of said first covering and said second covering is formed of an outwardly convex component. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The pet toy in accordance with claim 5, in which each of said first covering and said second covering is formed of a partial sphere having a solid angle smaller than 2π. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which each of said first covering and said second covering is made from such a curved surface that allows an angle made by a tangent plane at each boundary between each of said first covering and said second covering and said lateral band portion with respect to said axial direction to be greater than an angle when each of said first covering and said second covering is semi-spherical. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The pet toy in accordance with claim 7, in which said angle made by said tangent plane with respect to said axial direction is in a range between 30 degrees and 60 degrees. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which said first covering has a substantially similar configuration to said second covering. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which said first covering and said second covering have rotationally symmetrical configurations with respect to said axial direction. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which said slit comprises a lip defined by a raise of a wall around said slit. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which at least one of said lateral band portion, said first covering and said second covering has a smell releasing aperture for releasing a smell from the food contained in said cavity. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The pet toy in accordance with claim 1, in which at least two said slits are formed in said lateral band portion.