Granted Patent B2

US 12,653,141 · App. 18/969,339 · Granted Jun 16, 2026

Inventor: Zhihui Song (Shenzhen, CN)

Assignee: DONGGUAN CACTUS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CO., LIMITED

A01K1/0107

Abstract

Claims (49)

1 . A self-cleaning cat litter box, comprising:

a base;

a drum, approximately symmetrically arranged with respect to a central plane perpendicular to a rotation axis of the drum;

at least one driven toothed structure, arranged on an outer peripheral wall of the drum, extending along a circumferential direction of the drum, and approximately symmetrically arranged with respect to the central plane;

at least one driving toothed structure, mounted on the base, wherein each of the at least one driving toothed structure is configured to engage with a respective one of the at least one driven toothed structure;

a driving device, configured to drive the at least one driving toothed structure to rotate;

wherein when the drum is disposed on the base, each of the at least one driven toothed structure engages with a respective one of the at least one driving toothed structure, and the driving device is capable of driving the at least one driving toothed structure and driving the drum to rotate about the rotation axis;

wherein the self-cleaning cat litter box further comprises a guiding structure, the guiding structure comprises a guiding groove defined in an outer surface of the drum; the guiding groove has two inclined groove inner walls; the at least one driven toothed structure is located in the guiding groove; the two inclined groove inner walls are configured to guide engagement between the at least one driving toothed structure and the at least one driven toothed structure; and

wherein the at least one driven toothed structure is protrudingly arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the drum, at least two limiting baffles are arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the drum, and the at least two limiting baffles enclose to form the guiding groove; and at least one of the at least two limiting baffles is detachably connected to the drum;

wherein an inner cavity is defined in the base, the base comprises an inner wall corresponding to the inner cavity, the at least one driving toothed structure is disposed in the inner cavity, and a limiting gap is defined between the at least one driving toothed structure and the inner wall; and the at least two limiting baffles comprise a first baffle and a second baffle, the first baffle is capable of inserting into the limiting gap, the second baffle is arranged with a flange, the flange extends in a direction away from the first baffle, and an extension length of the flange is greater than a width of the limiting gap.

2 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 1 , when the drum is disposed on the base, guidance of the two inclined groove inner walls is configured to constrain the drum from displacing along the rotation axis.

3 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the two inclined groove inner walls face opposite to each other.

4 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

a guiding wheel is rotatably arranged on the base,

a second guiding groove is defined in the outer peripheral wall of the drum, and

guiding bosses are arranged on the guiding wheel;

when the drum is disposed on the base, the guiding wheel is inserted in the second guiding groove and abuts against the outer peripheral wall of the drum.

5 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the number of the at least one driven toothed structure is one, the one driven toothed structure is configured as a driven gear, and the driven gear is arranged in a middle of the outer peripheral wall of the drum.

6 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the number of the at least one driven toothed structure is two, each of the two driven toothed structures is configured as a driven gear, the two driven gears are approximately symmetrically arranged with respect to the central plane and are arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the drum, and the number of the at least one driving toothed structure is two, and the two driving toothed structures are configured to simultaneously engage with the two driven gears respectively.

7 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the number of the at least one driven toothed structure is more than one, each of the more than one driven toothed structures is configured as a driven gear, the number of the at least one driving toothed structure is more than one, each of the more than one driving toothed structures is configured as a driving gear, and the driving gear is configured to engage with the driven gear; the number of the at least one driving toothed structure is equal to the number of the at least one driven toothed structure, and the each of the more than one driven gears is arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the drum.

8 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

the number of the at least one driven toothed structure is more than one, each of the more than one driven toothed structures is configured as a driven gear, the each of the more than one driven gears is arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the drum, and the more than one driven gears form a symmetrical structure approximately symmetrically arranged with respect to the central plane;

the base has a front wall and a rear wall, an avoidance groove is defined in the base corresponding to the each of the more than one driven gears, and the avoidance groove extends to penetrate the front wall and the rear wall; and

when the drum is disposed on the base, the each of the more than one driven gears is received in the avoidance groove, and an avoidance gap is defined between a bottom wall corresponding to the avoidance groove and a corresponding one of the more than one driven gears.

9 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a protruding edge of each tooth of the at least one driven toothed structure is recessed with respect to an outer periphery of the two inclined groove inner walls.

10 . A self-cleaning cat litter box, comprising:

a base;

a drum, approximately symmetrically arranged with respect to a first central plane perpendicular to a rotation axis of the drum;

at least one driven toothed structure, arranged on an outer peripheral wall of the drum, extending along a circumferential direction of the drum, and approximately symmetrically arranged with respect to the first central plane;

at least one driving toothed structure, mounted on the base, wherein each of the at least one driving toothed structure is configured to engage with a respective one of the at least one driven toothed structure;

a driving device, configured to drive the at least one driving toothed structure to rotate;

wherein when the drum is disposed on the base, each of the at least one driven toothed structure engages with a respective one of the at least one driving toothed structure, and the driving device is capable of driving the at least one driving toothed structure and driving the drum to rotate about the rotation axis;

wherein the base comprises a bottom shell and a supporting mechanism, the supporting mechanism is mounted on the bottom shell and configured to support the drum, the supporting mechanism comprises a plurality of roller assemblies, and each of the plurality of roller assemblies is mounted on the bottom shell;

when the drum is disposed on the base, the plurality of roller assemblies are located below the drum and arranged along the circumferential direction of the drum, and the each of the plurality of roller assemblies abuts against the outer peripheral wall of the drum;

wherein the plurality of roller assemblies comprise a first roller assembly and a second roller assembly;

when the drum is disposed on the base, the first roller assembly has a first contact point contacting the drum, and the second roller assembly has a second contact point contacting the drum; and

during a rotation of the drum, a center of gravity of the drum is variable and is always maintained between the first contact point and the second contact point;

wherein the self-cleaning cat litter box further comprises a guiding structure, the guiding structure comprises a guiding groove defined in an outer surface of the drum; the guiding groove has two inclined groove inner walls; the at least one driven toothed structure is located in the guiding groove; the two inclined groove inner walls are configured to guide engagement between the at least one driving toothed structure and the at least one driven toothed structure; and

wherein the at least one driven toothed structure is protrudingly arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the drum, at least two limiting baffles are arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the drum, and the at least two limiting baffles enclose to form the guiding groove; and at least one of the at least two limiting baffles is detachably connected to the drum;

wherein an inner cavity is defined in the base, the base comprises an inner wall corresponding to the inner cavity, the at least one driving toothed structure is disposed in the inner cavity, and a limiting gap is defined between the at least one driving toothed structure and the inner wall; and the at least two limiting baffles comprise a first baffle and a second baffle, the first baffle is capable of inserting into the limiting gap, the second baffle is arranged with a flange, the flange extends in a direction away from the first baffle, and an extension length of the flange is greater than a width of the limiting gap.

11 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 10 , wherein:

the drum has a lowest point at a lowest part of the outer peripheral wall;

a first connection line is defined as a connection line from the first contact point to the rotation axis of the drum, a reference line is defined as a connection line from the lowest point to the rotation axis of the drum, and an angle between the first connection line and the reference line is approximately between 35° and 60°; and

a second connection line is defined as a connection line from the second contact point to the rotation axis of the drum, and an angle between the second connection line and the reference line is approximately between 35° and 60°.

12 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 10 , wherein each of the first roller assembly and the second roller assembly comprises at least two roller structures which are approximately symmetrically arranged with respect to the first central plane; the drum further has a second central plane substantially perpendicular to the first central plane; and the first roller assembly and the second roller assembly are substantially symmetrically arranged with respect to the second central plane.

13 . The self-cleaning cat litter box as claimed in claim 10 , wherein:

a rotation groove is defined in the bottom shell, each of the plurality of roller assemblies is mounted in the rotation groove;

when the drum is disposed on the base, a bottom of the drum is received in the rotation groove and abuts against the plurality of roller assemblies; and

a shape of an inner wall corresponding to the rotation groove matches a shape of the outer peripheral wall of the drum.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (3)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (14)