Petent Pending™: Pet Display Clothing
Welcome to Petent PendingTM, Russell IP’s series of pet-related patent posts! 🐾 Each post will feature a patent application or granted patent relating to technology for or involving pets 🐕🐈. From time to time, we’ll also try to coax a furry Russell IP representative into making an appearance and offering their take on the featured pet tech!
Pet-Related Patent Snapshot
Patent: US5901666
Inventor: Brice Belisle
Title: Pet Display Clothing
Granted: 11 May 1999
Jurisdiction: US
A Vest-ed Interest in Pet Fashion
Lots of pet owners enjoy taking their pets out and about and showing them off to passersby. But what about incorporating them into your outfit?
The vest described in Brice Belisle’s patent “Pet Display Clothing” lets you do just that! It features transparent pockets and connecting tubes which provide a portable pad for your pet and allow those nearby to admire your animal companion as it explores its home-from-home. Totally tubular, dude.
The description discusses several aesthetic flourishes to please both pet-resident and observer. Panel portions 6 of the vest 1 can be printed with graphics 7 depicting the pet’s natural habitat. This may mask some of the pet’s progress around the tubes, creating the impression for the observer that the pet is moving within the clothing across the wearer’s torso. Alternatively, the graphics 7 could depict tunnels/burrows, or even scenes from an animal tale story book, such as a mouse tea party.
Pet owners will be relieved to know that the patent also addresses one of the more practical and less savoury aspects of pet ownership: “Fluid wastes tend to gravitate to the pocket facilitating collection and removal while the passageways and pockets can be rinsed by attachment to a faucet”.
The patent notes that the pet display clothing need not be limited to a vest: another illustration shows a pet display belt (below), and the description points out that the vest could be provided with sleeves to form a coat or jacket, or be of increased length to form an overcoat. And although the illustrations show a rodent occupying the tubes, the text points out that it would also be suitable for snakes “and possibly even insects”.
We’re not sure whether “wear your pet to work” days would catch on, but it’s an idea!
If you have any questions about pet-related IP, please feel free to get in touch with your usual Russell IP contact, email [email protected], or use our contact form by clicking the button below.
Looking for more pet-related patent content? Check out the earlier posts in the series:
