Pet collar with collapsible bowl
View Patent ↗A wearable collar device having an integrated collapsible bowl for containing water, food, treats and the like. The device can also be used to carry keys, bags, etc. The bowl is flattened during storage and use and can be expanded to contain liquids. The collar includes a body and a pair of opposed elongated ends adapted to be tied around a pet's neck. The ends allow the collar to accommodate a range of neck sizes. The bowl is defined by a sheet of material folded in a unique manner. The fold lines allow the bowl to be collapsed into a consistently flat form.
1. A collar device comprising:
a collar body having a pair of opposed elongated ends, said ends being securable together to secure the collar body around a neck of a pet; and
a foldable fabric sheet secured to the collar body, said fabric sheet including a plurality of panels being defined along fold lines, and said fabric sheet adapted to be repeatedly collapsed and expanded along the fold lines between a flattened form and a stable base bowl form, with said bowl form adapted to contain a volume of liquid;
wherein the plurality of panels of said fabric sheet include:
a central hexagonal panel separating a pair of rectangular panels, wherein the central hexagonal panel forms a stable base of said bowl form, and wherein the pair of rectangular panels form sides of the bowl form;
wherein the central hexagonal panel is foldable in half along a central fold line and the pair of rectangular panels are foldable along a pair of fold lines laterally spaced from the central fold line, with the central hexagonal panel and pair of rectangular panels being fan-foldable along the fold lines; and
a plurality of triangular panels adjacent opposite ends of each rectangular panel of the pair of rectangular panels, wherein each plurality of triangular panels is foldable to form a corner of the bowl form.
2. The collar device of claim 1 wherein the fabric sheet is defined by a single sheet of fluid impervious material.
3. The collar device of claim 1 further comprising a closure mechanism for securing sides of the fabric body together.
4. The collar device of claim 3 wherein the closure mechanism includes one or more of a hook and loop fastener, a zipper, or a snap.
5. The collar device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of panels includes a plurality of clipped right triangular panels defined by fold lines generally parallel to the central fold line and fold lines angled away from the central fold line, with said clipped right triangular panels being adjacent opposite ends of the central hexagonal panel, wherein said clipped right triangular panels form sides of the bowl form.
6. The collar device of claim 1 wherein each plurality of triangular panels comprises an isosceles triangle panel, with each isosceles triangle panel separating a pair of right triangular panels, and with one of said pair of right triangular panels being adjacent one of the rectangular panels and the other one of said pair of right triangular panels being adjacent a clipped right triangular panel.
7. The collar device of claim 6 , wherein the isosceles triangle shaped panels are folded over the adjacent right triangular panels thereby hiding the right triangular panels from view in order to form the bowl form.
8. The collar device of claim 1 wherein the fabric sheet is a clipped-corner square form.
9. A method of using a collar device having a flattened form and a stable base bowl form, the method comprising:
removing the collar device from a neck of a pet, the collar device comprising:
a collar body having a pair of opposed elongated ends, said ends being securable together to secure the collar body around the neck of the pet; and
a foldable fabric sheet secured to the collar body, said fabric sheet including a plurality of panels being defined along fold lines, and said fabric sheet adapted to be repeatedly collapsed and expanded along the fold lines between the flattened form and the bowl form, with said bowl form adapted to contain a volume of liquid;
wherein the plurality of panels of said fabric sheet include:
a central hexagonal panel separating a pair of rectangular panels, wherein the central hexagonal panel forms a stable base of said bowl form, and wherein the pair of rectangular panels form sides of the bowl form;
wherein the central hexagonal panel is foldable in half along a central fold line and the pair of rectangular panels are foldable along a pair of fold lines laterally spaced from the central fold line, with the central hexagonal panel and pair of rectangular panels being fan-foldable along the fold lines; and
a plurality of triangular panels adjacent opposite ends of each rectangular panel of the pair of rectangular panels, wherein each plurality of triangular panels is foldable to form a corner of the bowl form; and
expanding the folded fabric sheet to define a container for liquid for pet consumption.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, after pet consumption of the liquid, folding the fabric sheet along its fold lines in order to return the collar device to the flattened form.
11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising securing the collar device around the neck of the pet after returning the collar device to the flattened form.
12. The collar device of claim 1 , wherein the pair of opposed elongated ends of the collar body comprise fabric, and wherein the pair of opposed elongated ends are tied together to secure the collar body around the neck of the pet.
13. The collar device of claim 1 , wherein the collar body comprises a pair of sheets of fabric which are sewn or adhered together, and wherein said fabric body is positioned between said pair of sheets of fabric.
14. The collar device of claim 1 , wherein the fabric sheet comprises a coated nylon material.
15. The collar device of claim 1 , wherein the fabric sheet comprises one or more of a PVC backed nylon taffeta material, a mylar material, or a polyethylene material.