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Efficiency promoting water drinking container for animals

Efficiency promoting water drinking container for animals description/claims

The present invention relates to an efficiency promoting water drinking container for animals. Animals use their tongues to drink water. They dip their tongue into a container of water with the end of the tongue curved backward and then lift the tongue upwardly bringing a quantity of water into their mouth. This is an extremely inefficient way to convey water into their mouth. In particular, the portion of the tongue that is bent backward is relatively flat allowing the water to spill off the sides of that portion of the tongue as the tongue is lifted up with a quantity of water resting thereon. In a book titled “Canine Behavior,” Dr. Bonnie Beaver, President of the American Veterinary Medical Association, says the following: “The tongue is curled backward and serves as a ladle to lift the water into the mouth. Because the curl is almost flat across instead of cup-shaped, much of the water spills out from the sides before the dog can get it into the mouth. About half is lost.”

As explained by Stan Coren, Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and author of the book “How Dogs Think”: “A dog's tongue curls down and back in a sort of fishhook shape and he literally pulls the water up and it falls into the floor of his mouth. How quickly a dog can drink depends upon the size of its tongue.”

Larger animals have larger tongues and are able to lift a greater quantity of water per lap. Typically, the larger the animal, the wider the tongue. Given tongues of equal lengths, a wider tongue can lift a larger quantity of water per lap.

Drinking bowls and containers for animals that are currently made are mainly large containers filled with water without any thought to designing their shape in a way to enhance the efficiency of drinking. The animal, such as a dog, cat, other pet or other animal, merely laps the water from the bowl or container and keeps lapping until it has received its fill. If the configuration of a container of water were designed to enhance efficiency of drinking, such a container would be pleasing to an animal.

U.S. Patent Nos. D302,755 to Zaliti and D335,940 to McGrath et al. teach pet feeding dishes having container portions that are elongated and relatively narrow. However, these patents do not contemplate the problem of the inefficiency of lapping of water nor do they propose a solution.

U.S. Patent No. D288,650 to Mintz, similarly, teaches a plurality of compartments of general utility, but fails to contemplate either the problem or the solution contemplated herein.

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• Utility Patent

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